The current status of Sandbar shark (Carcharhinus plumbeus) in Muğla coasts: A study with the special emphasis to boncuk cove

The study was carried out between January 1, 2022 and December 31, 2022, underwater and surface camera images were examined, and interviews were conducted with diving schools personnel and fishermen registered in the cooperatives within the borders of Muğla. For this purpose, 7,448 hours of underwater camera recording were examined and 11,102 sandbar shark observations were made. The monthly distribution of the observations by months were January 0, February 0, March 0, April 3,204, May 4,140, June 1,448, July 397, August 51, September 582, October 1,458, November 3 and December 0. The relationship of these observations with the season, time of the day, water temperature, the amount of oxygen in the water (ppm) and the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water (%) were investigated. Counting data regression model was used for the analyses, and as a result, it was observed that the frequency of encounter was not related to temperature, the frequency of sandbar sharks increased as the amount of oxygen in the water (ppm) increased, as well as the frequency of sandbar sharks increased as the dissolved oxygen saturation (%) decreased, most frequently between 12:00 and 15:00, spring was found to be the most common season for the species. Due to the malfunction in the surface camera, images could only be taken in the last 5 months of the year, but no meaningful data were obtained. In addition, a total of 125 people comprising 78 fishermen registered with various fisheries cooperatives and 47 diving school workers were interviewed within the scope of field studies, but only 11 of them reported to have encountered sharks, 8 of these were from fishermen and 3 were from diving school workers. The purpose of these surveys were to determine whether the species has an unknown gathering area. However, no meaningful data were obtained due to the small number of people encountering the species with only single individuals.