The IUCN/SSC Shark Specialist Group
Shark News 7: June 1996
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Elasmobranch biodiversity and
conservation in Sabah
The Shark Specialist Group's collaborative study with the Sabah
Fisheries Department, funded by the UK government's Darwin Initiative
and announced in Shark News 4, has now been underway for five
months, with another year still to run until the final workshop. The
project commenced in January with the appointment of a Darwin
Project Officer, Mabel Manjaji, in the Fisheries Department and an
initial field and market survey by Fisheries Department staff and Shark
Group members Leonard Compagno, Sid Cook, Sarah Fowler and
Frances Dipper.
Elasmobranchs in Sandakan market, Sabah. Photo: Sarah Fowler.
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This initial brief visit determined that the chondrichthyan fauna of
Sabah is more diverse than formerly believed (the elasmobranchs of
Borneo have not previously been recorded in any detail). Of the 15
species of shark and 21 species of ray recorded during the January
visit, ten species and one genus ( Mustelus) were new records for the
whole of Borneo. The Mustelus sp. may be new to science. Stingrays
were more diverse, had a higher biomass than sharks in market
surveys, and included some poorly known species. Some sharks
which are common and widespread in the region are surprisingly
under-represented. (Several additional species have since been
recorded.) Representative specimens are being purchased during
market surveys and preserved to provide a reference collection for
future taxonomic research and as voucher specimens.
Particularly interesting freshwater records were obtained in the
form of photographs of the giant freshwater stingray Himantura
chaophraya, a fin set of the bull shark Carcharhinus leucas and saws
of Pristis microdon, all apparently from freshwater reaches of the
Kinabatangan River. There were also reports from fishermen of very
large guitar fish being caught in the same area, and the identity of other
large river stingrays described is still unknown. Unfortunately, flood
conditions have persisted since the start of the project and attempts to
obtain specimens of these river elasmobranchs have, so far, been
unsuccessful. There have been no signs or reports of the very rare
Borneo river shark Glyphis sp.
The project has continued with a programme of market surveys,
field surveys on the Kinabatangan and Segama Rivers, and interviews
with fishermen in river and estuarine kampongs, occasionally also in
collaboration with WWF-Malaysia. Assistance with surveys and
specimen identification has been provided by several SSG members,
some during holidays in Sabah (Gordon Yearsley, CSIRO, Australia
and John Denham, UK), others by correspondence.
Future work will include a survey of the socio-economic and
cultural importance of elasmobranchs to traditional subsistence
fishing communities, to be started by Patty Almada-Vilella in July.
Frances Dipper will be developing a survey programme for marine
protected areas and an elasmobranch reporting and identification
programme for divers, the latter in collaboration with dive tour
companies in Sabah. Any SSG members interested in participating
should contact Frances Dipper for more information (7 Rutland
Green, Hilton, Cambridgeshire, PE18 9NT, UK. fax (+44) (0) 1480
830507, email 101331.663@compuserve.com). We may be able to
arrange local accommodation and transport for volunteers.
Sarah Fowler, Darwin Project Coordinator,
Nature Conservation Bureau, Newbury, UK.
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