Longest recorded migration of a silky shark (Carcharhinus falciformis) reveals extensive use of international waters of the Tropical Eastern Pacific.

ABSTRACT

Despite being a heavily fished species, little is known about the movements of silky sharks (Carcharhinus falciformis). In this study, we report the longest (in duration and distance traveled) and most spatially extensive recorded migration for a silky shark. This shark, tagged with a fin-mount satellite transmitter at the Galapagos Islands, traveled >27,666 km over 546 days, making two westerly migrations into international waters as far as 4755 km from the tagging location. These extensive movements in an area with high international fishing effort highlights the importance of understanding silky shark migrations to inform management practices.