Spot the Blackspot of Whitetip Reefshark (Triaenodon obesus) in Torosiaje Waters, Gorontalo
Darmawan Ahmad Mukharror, Dwi Yuda Asmara

Shark Diving Indonesia - Shark Behavior Research Department

Abstract

Conservation efforts, often than not, was a collaborative effort with other activities such as marine tourism to achieve their goals. As a positive side to balance negative image as first rank in the list of country which catches sharks, shark diving tourism plays as an economically important for gross national products (GDPs) for Indonesia. Gorontalo, as one of the prominent whaleshark diving site in Indonesia is currently became popular among divers. However, there are whitetip reef shark living in Gorontalo^s westernmost area, albeit, the numbers and behaviors is largely unknown. The information of shark individual marking and their number is considered as important for developing ecological assessment, carrying capacity, and shark agonistic behavior observation. Diver Operated Video (DOV) is used to identify visually the whitetip reef shark^s black spot marking and its patterns over time. Hundreds of photographs and video of the Triaenodon obesus has been analyzed during Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus (SCUBA) diving - on May 2021 - reveals the estimate number of these whitetip reef shark living in the proximity of Torosiaje area

Keywords: Individual marking, Triaenodon obesus, Torosiaje Water

Topic: Marine Ecotourism (International)