Life history characteristics of the silky shark Carcharhinus falciformis from the central west Pacific

Abstract

In the central west Pacific region, silky sharks (Carcharhinus falciformis) are commonly taken in fisheries, forming up to 95% of incidental elasmobranch bycatch. The present study examined the life history of silky sharks (n = 553) from Papua New Guinean waters. Age was analysed using sectioned vertebrae, and a multimodel approach was applied to the length-at-age data to fit growth models. Females ranged in length from 65.0- to 253.0-cm total length (TL), with the oldest estimated at 28 years. Males ranged in length from 68.4 to 271.3 cm TL and were aged to a maximum of 23 years. The logistic model provided the best fitting growth parameter estimates of length at birth L₀ = 82.7 cm TL, growth coefficient g = 0.14 year⁻¹ and asymptotic length L∞ = 261.3 cm TL for the sexes combined. Females reached sexual maturity at 204 cm TL and 14.0 years, whereas males reached maturity at 183 cm TL and 11.6 years. The average litter size from 28 pregnant females was 8 (range of 3–13). The growth parameters and late ages of sexual maturation for silky sharks in the central west Pacific suggest a significant risk from fisheries exploitation without careful population management.