VICTORIA, Seychelles — A visitor to Seychelles recently shared a photograph of a ‘strange-looking’ marine species caught on a fishing trip close to Praslin. The catch was quickly identified as the Pelagic Thresher (Alopias pelagicus), also commonly known as ‘Renar’ in Creole — an iconic but endangered species that was once on the brink of extinction.
Fortunately for conservation, fearing that this was a rare species, the fishermen safely released the shark. The video of the release and the photos are now photographic evidence that this species frequents the inner islands, providing a spark of hope for the species and the health of the ecosystems. The Pelagic Thresher is the only one of the three Thresher species that frequents the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.
The two other species, the Common Thresher (Alopias vulpinus) and the Bigeye Thresher (Alopias superciliosus), are listed as Vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. All three species are naturally docile and are therefore highly susceptible to being captured by humans, leading to drastic declines in their worldwide population. Thresher sharks take at least 12 to 13 years to reach maturity and will have only one to two pups per breeding cycle, putting them at risk of population collapse and possible extinction.
