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ISRA FACTSHEETS

ASIA REGION

ISRA FACTSHEETS

ASIA REGION

Southern Rakhine ISRA

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Southern Rakhine ISRA

Southern Rakhine

Summary

Southern Rakhine is located along the northern coastline of Myanmar. It is characterised by extensive mangrove forests, coral reefs, and seagrass beds that fringe the coastline. Within the area there are: threatened species and reproductive areas (Scalloped Hammerhead Sphyrna lewini).

Southern Rakhine

Southern Rakhine

DESCRIPTION OF HABITAT

Southern Rakhine is located along the northern coastline of Myanmar. The area is characterised by extensive coral reefs, seagrass beds, mangroves, and sandy beaches. At the southern boundary, adjacent to Gwa Township, Gwa Kyun (Island) is surrounded by higher than average for the region (⁓34%) hard coral reef coverage (MERMAID 2024). Further north there are extensive dwarf mangrove systems and sandy beaches along the coastline.

This Important Shark and Ray Area is benthopelagic and is delineated from inshore and surface waters (0 m) to 50 m based on the bathymetry of the area.

CRITERION A

VULNERABILITY

One Qualifying Species within the area is considered threatened with extinction according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The Scalloped Hammerhead is assessed as Critically Endangered (Rigby et al. 2019).

CRITERION C

SUB-CRITERION C1 – REPRODUCTIVE AREAS

Southern Rakhine is an important reproductive area for one shark species.

Between March 2017 to April 2018, three 7-day surveys for sharks and rays were conducted seasonally at six major landing sites along the Rakhine Coastal region (Maung 2018). A total of 70 Scalloped Hammerheads were recorded: 63 at landing sites, and 7 with market sellers (A Maung unpubl. data 2018). Of these records, 80% were within Southern Rakhine (from Gyeiktaw, south of Thandwe, and Yahaingkado, close to Gwa – the northern and southern extents of the area), demonstrating the importance of this area over neighbouring areas for reproduction in this species. Records (96%) from Southern Rakhine were <60 cm total length (TL) and the remaining 4% were between 61–64 cm TL (A Maung unpubl. data 2018). Size-at-birth for Scalloped Hammerhead is 31–57 cm TL (Ebert et al. 2021). The majority of sharks and rays from landing sites were caught by inshore fishers operating within 10 nm of the mainland coast (Muang 2018). Higher catch rates of sharks were observed during the rainy and hot seasons (April–October; 46% and 39%, respectively). Observations of Scalloped Hammerhead pups have also been recorded at landing sites in Southern Rakhine during 2021, 2022 (T Ko Gyi pers. obs. 2024), and 2023 (A Maung pers. obs. 2024). Neonate Scalloped Hammerheads observed at markets in the area in 2023 were estimated to be <60 cm TL (T Ko Gyi pers. obs. 2024).

Southern Rakhine

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