Megafauna Monitoring Initiative (MMI) – October 2019

Bula and welcome to the MMI summary for the month of October. This months MMI has presented our lowest number of total shark sightings in the last 4 months of recording data. That is 82 compared to 105, 136 and 94 throughout the months of July, August and September respectively. This however is not the case for our turtle sightings, specifically with regards to the Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas) by where we have observed our highest number of individual sightings of 182 compared to 95, 132 and 128 throughout July, August and September respectively.

Sightings of all other species have remained relatively consistent when compared to previous months with the exception of the Humphead Wrasse (Cheilinus undulates) and Great Barracuda (Sphyraena barracuda) having their highest sightings of 11 and 10 respectively to date. The October MMI also encountered its first Bumphead Parrotfish since the commencement of the MMI in July. This species is sadly now a rare sighting thoughout Fiji becasuse of the heavy fishing pressure placed on the species. The reason for such unsustainable fishing practices is due to Bumphead Parrotfish having a tendency to sleep in cave like formations, this makes them prone to predation by night spearfishing.

See the list below for updated sightings of all our megafauna species throughout October.

59 x White Tip Reef Shark (Triaenodon obesus)

13 x Black Tip Reef Shark (Carcharhinus melanopterus)

10 x Grey Reef Shark (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos)

1 x Tawny Nurse Shark (Nebrius ferrugineus)

182 x Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas)

13 x Hawksbill Turtle (Eretmochelys imbricate)

9 x Bluespoted Ribbontail Ray (Taeniura lymma)

1 x Coral Sea Maskray (Neotrygon kuhlii)

5 x Whitespotted Eagle Ray (Aetobatus ocellatus)

1 x Marbled Ray (Taeniurops meyeni)

1 x Tahitian Stingray (Pateobatis fai)

11 x Narrow-barred Spanish Mackerel (Scomberomorus commerson)

11 x Humphead Wrasse (Cheilinus undulates)

10 x Great Barracuda (Sphyraena barracuda)

10 x Brown Marbled Grouper ( Epinephelus   fuscoguttatus )

8 x Bumphead Parrotfish (Bolbometopon muricatum)

Join us again next month and see what we encountered throughout November!