Verified records of the bull shark Carcharhinus leucas are lacking in the Maldives. This study provides the first confirmed evidence of 23 sightings observed from 2013 to 2023 in the central and southern atolls of this archipelago. Most of the sightings occurred in close proximity to inhabited areas, where food waste is often discarded into the water, or in several dive sites, suggesting the presence of this species in different locations around central and southern atolls. Although further research is required to fully investigate the C. leucas population in the Maldives, this report documents and confirms its presence in this region.
Keywords: Baited Remote Underwater Video Station; Maldives; elasmobranchs; shark aggregation; shark distribution.
© 2023 The Authors. Journal of Fish Biology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Fisheries Society of the British Isles.