Scientists from the Marine Megafauna Foundation (MMF) have placed satellite tags on the bottlenose wedgefish and bowmouth guitarfish, two species of critically endangered wedgefish.
Wedgefish being tagged by Dr Andrea Marshall. Photo courtesy of the Marine Megafauna Foundation
This signalled the start of a first-of-its-kind study for these species in Mozambique, with the objectives of identifying primary aggregation sites, understanding their movements and home range and identifying the threats they face in the region.
Two types of tags are being used in the study—acoustic and pop-up archival satellite tags—so that both fine and broad-scale movements can be studied.
“By using this particular combination of tags, we can learn where the animals spend most of their time, whether visits to specific sites are year-round or seasonal, how far they move, how deep they dive, and which temperatures they prefer,” Dr Andrea Marshall explained. She is the MMF co-founder and co-leader of the project.
“This will help to identify areas of critical habitat that must be prioritised for protection,” she added.
Focussing on the protected waters of the Bazaruto Archipelago National Park and the Vilanculos Coastal Wildlife Sanctuary, the researchers are working alongside park authorities and managers to facilitate the study.
