Occurrence of shortfin mako shark, Isurus oxyrinchus Rafinesque, 1810, off Turkey's coast

Review of the available literature and the results of the present study revealed that 17 specimens of Isurus oxyrinchus were caught between 1950 and 2013. Nine (52.9%) of these verified 17 catches were recorded after 2000. Catches of I. oxyrinchus off Turkey's coast include specimens ranging from new-borns (65 cm total length) to huge adults (585 cm total length). A new-born female caught off the coast of Foca on 19 May 2015 represents the smallest free-swimming specimen of I. oxyrinchus ever recorded in Turkish waters. The occurrence of a new-born shortfin mako shark off Foca's coast provides new evidence to support the possibility of a mating region of lamniform sharks, including I. oxyrinchus , in the northern Aegean Sea. The seasonal occurrence of both young and adult shortfin mako sharks off Turkey's Aegean and Mediterranean coasts should be monitored to clarify whether the shortfin mako shark is a resident or a vagrant species along the aforementioned coastline.