Preliminary assessment of a possible lemon shark nursery in the turks and Caicos Islands, British West Indies

Juvenile lemon sharks, Negaprion brevirostris, were captured at shallow-water sites around South Caicos over a 16 month period. Capture and recapture rates were relatively low, and residency time appeared to be short, possibly indicating that South Caicos is just part of a larger nursery area. Nonetheless, the presence of neonates with fresh umbilical scars confirms that parturition did take place within the study area. It is suggested that the juvenile sharks utilise a larger activity space than in previously studied areas, and that this is facilitated by strong tidal movements over a large expanse of contiguous habitat.