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RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)
Contents Vol 52(6)

Transoceanic dispersal and connectivity of a white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) between southern Africa and Southeast Asia

Dylan T. Irion https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1075-3458 A B * , Oliver J. D. Jewell https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7680-8960 C D , Alison V. Towner E F ,   Fahmi https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3199-7467 G , G. Christopher Fischer H , Enrico Gennari https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4334-727X E I J , Madison Stewart K , John P. Tyminski https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8251-7385 H and Alison A. Kock https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9981-1652 J L
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Statistics in Ecology, Environment and Conservation, Department of Statistical Sciences, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7700, South Africa.

B Cape Research and Diver Development, Simon’s Town 7995, South Africa.

C School of Biological Sciences & Oceans Institute, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, 6008, Australia.

D Dyer Island Conservation Trust, Kleinbaai, Gansbaai, 7220, South Africa.

E Department of Ichthyology and Fisheries Science, Rhodes University, Makhanda 6139, South Africa.

F South African International Maritime Institute, Ocean Sciences Campus, Gqeberha 6031, South Africa.

G Research Center for Oceanography, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Jakarta 14430, Indonesia.

H OCEARCH, Park City, UT 84068, USA.

I Oceans Research Institute, Mossel Bay 6500, South Africa.

J South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB), Makhanda 6140, South Africa.

K Project Hiu, Lombok 83573, Indonesia.

L South African National Parks, Scientific Services, Cape Town 7701, South Africa.

* Correspondence to: dylan@caperadd.com

Handling Editor: Nigel Hussey

Wildlife Research 52, WR24145 https://doi.org/10.1071/WR24145
Submitted: 30 August 2024  Accepted: 14 April 2025  Published: 20 June 2025

© 2025 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY)

Abstract

Population connectivity shapes dispersal, genetic structure, and responses to climate change. Understanding these patterns is vital for identifying threats and improving species management strategies. In May 2024, a fisher from Indonesia with a satellite tag in their possession contacted local conservationists from non-profit organisation Project Hiu. The Project Hiu staff contacted Wildlife Computers with the serial number and successfully located the tag owner. Remarkably, the tag was identified as having been attached to a 390 cm total-length (TL) subadult female white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) in May 2012 in South Africa. Through subsequent investigations, including email correspondence and interviews with the fishers, we have determined that in November 2016, a 473 cm TL female shark (misidentified at the time as a longfin mako shark, Isurus paucus) was captured in longline gear off the coast of Indonesia, Southeast Asia. This remarkable sequence of events marks the first documented movement and connectivity of a white shark between South Africa and Southeast Asia (Indonesia). Over the 4.5 years at liberty, the shark grew in length an estimated 83 cm (18.4 cm per year), supporting previous findings on growth rates for the species. This record of events highlighted both the potential for misidentification and trade of threatened and protected shark species and the increasing benefits of close collaboration with local fishers. This newly discovered link expands our understanding of their wide-ranging connectivity among remote regions, advances our knowledge of their biology and behavior, and underscores the importance of ongoing international research and conservation efforts to protect these apex predators and their habitats.

Keywords: high seas, international collaboration, longline, migration, protected species, satellite telemetry, species distribution, species management.

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