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ISRA FACTSHEETS

SOUTH AMERICAN ATLANTIC REGION

ISRA FACTSHEETS

SOUTH AMERICAN ATLANTIC REGION

Upper Argentine Basin ISRA

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Upper Argentine Basin ISRA

Upper Argentine Basin

Summary

Upper Argentine Basin is located in Areas Beyond National Jurisdictions (ABNJ) of the southwest Atlantic. The area is influenced by the Brazil Current and the Falkland/Malvinas Current which converge creating a high productivity area. The habitat is characterised by pelagic waters. Within this area there are: threatened species and reproductive areas (Shortfin Mako Isurus oxyrinchus).

Upper Argentine Basin

Upper Argentine Basin

DESCRIPTION OF HABITAT

Upper Argentine Basin is located in Areas Beyond National Jurisdictions (ABNJ) of the southwest Atlantic. It sits in the northeast side of the Argentine Basin, ~250 km south from the Rio Grande Rise and ~1,400 km east from the coast of Brazil. The area is influenced by the Brazil Current and the Falkland/Malvinas Current (McDonagh & King 2005). The first current is a warm and saline tropical current, and the latter is colder and fresher. Both currents converge producing multiple eddies and create a mixing area with high upwelling and the transport of cold, nutrient-rich waters to the surface (McDonagh & King 2005; Piola & Matano 2019).

This Important Shark and Ray Area is pelagic and is delineated from surface waters (0 m) to a depth of 1,888 m based on the global depth range of the Qualifying Species.

CRITERION A

VULNERABILITY

One Qualifying Species considered threatened with extinction according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species regularly occurs in the area. This is the Endangered Shortfin Mako (Rigby et al. 2019).

CRITERION C

SUB-CRITERION C1 – REPRODUCTIVE AREAS

Upper Argentine Basin is an important reproductive area for one shark species.

Between 1989–2017, incidental catch of 42,979 Shortfin Makos was recorded by fishery observers and scientists from longline fisheries operating across the Atlantic Ocean (Coelho et al. 2018). Sizes of individuals ranged from 60–353 cm fork length, equivalent to ~67–398 cm total length (TL) based on conversion factors (ICCAT 2014; Rosa et al. 2018). Median size distribution was mapped in squares of 2×2° across the whole Atlantic Ocean. Median size in Upper Argentine Basin was between 73–110 cm TL (Coelho et al. 2018). Size-at-birth for the species is 60–70 cm TL (Ebert et al. 2021), indicating that the most common life-stages of animals caught in the area were either neonates or young-of-the-year (YOY). While in the Atlantic Ocean the biggest hotspots for Shortfin Mako with the smallest mean size were found in the southeast and north Atlantic, Upper Argentine Basin had a regional importance. This area was one of three areas within the southwest Atlantic with a mean size belonging to neonates/YOY despite a similar number of individuals caught in nearby areas (Coelho et al. 2018).

Upper Argentine Basin

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