Evidence of a potential sandbar shark (Carcharhinus plumbeus) nursery in the Western Gulf of Mexico

Introduction Nursery areas for sandbar sharks ( Carcharhinus plumbeus ) are well-delineated along the Atlantic coast of the United States, with only a single nursery area identified in the Gulf of Mexico on the west coast of Florida. Methods Fishery-independent surveys and fishery-dependent data were used to explore the frequency and seasonality of young-of-the-year (YOY) sandbar sharks off the coast of Texas. Results Data presented in this study demonstrate YOY are caught off the Texas coast, suggesting a potential nursery in the region. Data collected by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department estuarine gillnet surveys and recreational shore-based shark anglers documented the presence of YOY sandbar sharks in nearshore and estuarine waters of Texas. Discussion While the increase in YOY individuals were detected in the decades long fishery-independent surveys (i.e., estuarine gillnet, SEAMAP coastal and NMFS offshore longlines), fishery-dependent data collected via a shore-based recreational shark tournament documented a substantial rise in YOY sandbar sharks over a much shorter time period (10 years), supporting the usefulness of data collected by citizen scientists. For shark species, especially those with rebuilding plans, such as sandbar sharks, identifying and conserving nursery areas is important, as the decreasing amount of suitable habitat could be a limiting factor for population recovery.