Blacktip Reef Shark Project

In March 2004, Banyan Tree Maldives Marine Lab, in collaboration with ReefQuest Centre for Shark Research, began a two-year interdisciplinary study of the life history, behaviour, and ecology of the Blacktip Reef Shark (Caracharhinus melanopterus) in North Male’ Atoll.

Growing to a length of 1.6 m, the Blacktip Reef is the most abundant shark in the shallow waters around Vabbinfaru, home of Banyan Tree Maldives Resort and Spa. Despite its abundance, many aspects of its basic natural history remain poorly or incompletely known. The collaborative study examined:

• Growth Rate (How fast do they grow? How old are they at maturity?)
• Feeding Habits (What do they eat? How much and how often do they eat?)
• Movement Patterns (Do juveniles use different parts of the reef than adults? Do males use different areas than females?)
• Breeding Habits (When and how do males court females? When and where are the pups born?)
• Population Dynamics (How many are there? How are they related to one another?)
• Social Behaviour (How do they resolve conflicts? How do they communicate with each other?)

The study will be conducted in two phases,
1) monitoring growth, maturation, and social behaviour of a small captive population maintained on a standardised diet in a specially-designed and constructed holding pen
2) monitoring age and sex differences in movement patterns and estimating total population size based on free-ranging Blacktips, each marked with a unique, specially designed and built visual identification tags (consisting of simple geometric shapes of plastic on a streamer).

Guests of Banyan Tree Maldives Resort and Spa were invited to assist our research by reporting the time, location, depth, and behaviour of any tagged Blacktip Reef Shark seen around Vabbinfaru. Over time, accumulated reports provided us with a detailed picture of where members of both sexes at various growth stages utilize the resources off Vabbinfaru. This information continues to provide base-line information needed to manage Blacktip Reef Sharks as a living resource in North Male’ Atoll.   

Background: Aidan Martin

Aidan Martin was internationally recognized as an expert on the behavior, ecology and life history of sharks and rays. He was the Director of the Reef Quest Center for Shark Research, a Research Associate of the Fish Museum at the Zoology Department at the University of British Columbia, and an Adjunct Professor of marine ecology at Nova Southeastern University’s Oceanographic Center. Under Aidan’s supervision, the Blackfin Reef Shark Project was conducted on site at Banyan Tree Maldives by our Marine Lab staff in 2004.