Shark and ray monitoring on the marine critical habitat in Aceh Province

Aceh is the leading province in Indonesia, where the marine protection area for juvenile sharks and rays was first established, precisely in Aceh Jaya waters. Rigaih is the fishing port located closest to Aceh Jaya waters, where the angler fish closely with the marine protected area and even intersect with the juvenile's habitat. This study aimed to examine shark and ray catches in Aceh Jaya before and after establishing the marine protection area. We conducted landing monitoring from 2017 to 2019 (before establishing a conservation area) and monitored in 2020 when the conservation area was established. We recorded that 73% of sharks and ray caught on set gill net. The composition of sharks and rays landed at PPI Rigaih consisted of Sphyrna lewini (75%, n=1783), Chiloscyllium punctatum (8%), Neotrygon caeruleopunctata (7%, n =175), and other species (10%). This study aimed to provide scientific recommendations to support shark conservation action in Aceh Jaya Waters. We found that Aceh Jaya waters are an important area for the life stages of several threatened species, including Scalloped Hammerhead Sharks (S.lewini) and Bottlenose Wedgefish (R.australiae) that are listed in Critically Endangered and listed in Appendix II CITES. Management to support the conservation action needs to be strengthened not only limited to Marine Protected Areas but also fisheries management to reduce the incidental catch of threatened sharks and ray species. Further studies need to be conducted to delineate the habitat range of threatened shark and ray species and identify fishing behaviours that pose a risk for incidental catches of sharks and rays.