Scalloped Hammerhead (Sphyrna lewini) Movement Displays in Banda Waters, Maluku
Darmawan Ahmad Mukharror, Dwi Yuda Asmara

Shark Diving Indonesia - Shark Behavior Department

Abstract

Shark - human interaction has been evidenced during shark diving activities within marine tourism and it grows progressively in the recent years. As one of the popular attractions for the marine tourism in Indonesia, shark diving plays significant role for the conservation in the eastern part of Indonesia. Banda Sea, as well as Morotai, Derawan, Raja Ampat, Nabire and Teluk Cenderawasih, Bali, Lombok, Komodo, and Gorontalo, is famous for its shark diving attraction. Despite its famous status as a tourism attraction, little is known about the movement behavior of scalloped hammerhead shark during the interaction with Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus (SCUBA) diver. The information of shark movement behavior during interaction with SCUBA diver is important for developing ecological assessment, safe diving procedure and ethics, and shark tourism carrying capacity. This research involves Diver Operated Video (DOV) to record the movement patterns of shark while interacting with SCUBA Diver. Hundreds of movement-displays of the Sphyrna lewini has been analyzed during SCUBA diving shows that this shark is having a specific and consistent movement displays while meeting with SCUBA divers.

Keywords: Shark movement display, Sphyrna lewini, Banda Sea

Topic: Marine Ecotourism (International)