IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group

New guides to bolster shark and ray research and species identification in Southeast Asia

29/4/2021

The CITES Secretariat and the Secretariat of the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC) have jointly published two guides to facilitate the identification of shark and ray species common in the Southeast Asian region.

The purpose of the guides is to provide an accessible tool to help fisheries officers, fisheries researchers, CITES authorities and other relevant stakeholders in identifying sharks and rays commonly found in the Southeast Asian region.

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Shark News

20/4/2021

We want to invite you to discover the first issue of the official IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) Shark Specialist Group (SSG) newsletter.

Shark News was the official SSG newsletter from June 1994 to October 2004. We have now revived this magazine to provide a forum for exchanging information on all aspects of shark, ray, and chimaera conservation matters for SSG members and the general interested audience. Shark News has been reshaped into a modern quarterly magazine also to be used as an outreach and educational tool.

Research for conservation and management

19/4/2021

Region Update | Indian Ocean

Written by Daniel Fernando

Blue Resources Trust | Co-Founder and Director
IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group (SSG) | Regional Vice-Chair | Indian Ocean

Despite being an island nation, Sri Lanka often lacks the scientific data and tools necessary to monitor the marine environment and effectively conserve and manage its ocean resources. And it was a combination of this need for data, along with the challenges encountered when attempting research as an independent marine biologist, that led to the establishment of Blue Resources Trust (BRT).

Putting a face to a name

19/4/2021

Description of a new species of skate hitherto known only from egg cases described over 100 years ago

Written by Simon Weigmann

Chair | Integrative Taxonomy Working Group | IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group (SSG)
Associate Scientist | Center of Natural History | University of Hamburg
Chair | German Elasmobranch Society (D.E.G.)

Bathyraja arctowskii is an exceptional case in skate taxonomy as it was named by Dollo in 1904 based only on three empty egg capsules of tiny size from off the Antarctic Peninsula. The species as such remained undescribed for more than 100 years. The reason was the lack of specimens that could be assigned to Dollo's small egg capsules.

Report on the meeting of the Working Group on Recreational Fishing

18/4/2021

Update from the IUCN SSG Mediterranean Region

Fabrizio Serena

Co-Regional Vice-Chair | IUCN Shark Specialist Group for the Mediterranean
National Research Council | Institute of Marine Biological Resources and Biotechnologies

Monica Barone

Member of IUCN Shark Specialist Group Fisheries Resources Consultant

An online meeting of the Working Group on Recreational Fishing (WGRF) was held on 25 and 26 of February 2021. The General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) coordinated the meeting. The Working Group’s main objective is to fill the main data gaps in this activity and produce helpful advice to support the sustainable management of recreational fisheries from an Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries perspective.

Pakistan- Sawfish status and update

18/4/2021

Written by Muhammad Moazzam Khan

WWF-Pakistan | Technical Advisor
Member of the IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group (SSG)

Sawfishes have become one of the rarest groups of marine animals with many populations at high risk of extinction. Three species of sawfishes, i.e. Narrow (Anoxypristis cuspidata), Largetooth tooth (Pristis pristis) and Green (Pristis zijsron), are known from Pakistan. Information about sawfishes in Pakistan is available through the work efforts of Moazzam and Osmany (2014).

Globally, reef sharks are least abundant in East Africa: restoration possible through conservation and policy measures

18/4/2021

Update from the IUCN SSG Africa Region

By Kennedy Osuka | CORDIO East Africa

A first global study published in Nature found reef sharks were absent on almost 20% of the 371 coral reefs sampled in 58 nations across the world. The study provides conclusive evidence of a severe decline in reef sharks on a global scale which is directly linked to fishing, but confirms protected areas and fishing gear restrictions are effective in maintaining healthy reef shark populations. The results were based on 15,165 hours of baited remote underwater video (BRUV) footage around the world.

Recently Published

18/4/2021

Field Guide to Sharks, Rays, & Chimaeras of Europe and the Mediterranean

Written by David Ebert and Marc Dando

The waters of the Northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea are home to an amazing variety of sharks, rays, and chimaeras. The newly published Field Guide to Sharks, Rays, & Chimaeras of Europe and the Mediterranean covers all 146 species found in the Mediterranean, the waters of the European Atlantic and Iceland, along all the Scandinavian coasts, in the Black Sea and as far south as the Canary Islands.

The region can lay claim to the 10th most diverse chondrichthyes fauna in the world; representing nearly 12% of all known species, including about 25 endemic European Atlantic and nine endemic Mediterranean Sea species.

Contribution of the Russian SSG team to elasmobranch research during last decade

17/4/2021

by Alexei M. Orlov | Former Regional Vice-Chair | Northwestern Pacific

In the Russian Federation, there is currently almost no targeted scientific research of cartilaginous fish, which is due to a number of reasons. First, the fauna of cartilaginous fish in the waters of Russia is quite poor, since most of its seas are located in temperate and cold waters, which are characterized by a low species diversity of the considered group of fish. Secondly, there is no specialized fishing of cartilaginous fish in Russia, which are caught as by-catch in trawl, net and longline fisheries. In the domestic market, products made from shark and ray meat are in very low demand, so most of them are sold in Asian fish markets.

Curious about what shark species occur in South Africa?

17/4/2021

First SA Shark checklist – Published

A first ever dedicated checklist of South Africa’s chondrichthyan fauna provides a current list of all sharks, rays, skates and ghost sharks that occur in South African waters, their distribution and current IUCN Red List status.

Assessing Extinction Risk for Global Shark Trends

20/12/2020

Peter M. Kyne | SSG Red List Authority Coordinator

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is recognized as the most comprehensive, objective, global approach for evaluating the conservation status of species. Individual species as assessed against the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria to determine their relative risk of extinction (see Categories overview below), with the aim of highlighting those species which are facing an elevated risk of global extinction (those assessed in the threatened categories: Critically Endangered, Endangered, or Vulnerable). There are currently 1,091 published chondrichthyan assessments on the IUCN Red List, largely the result of nearly 20 years of Red Listing effort by the SSG.

It's all in the Name: Shark Systematics and the IUCN Red List

10/12/2020

Peter M. Kyne | SSG Red List Authority Coordinator

The Ever-changing Nature of Chondrichthyan Systematic

The Reef Manta Ray, formerly known as Manta alfredi, is now known as Mobula alfredi (Hanifaru Bay, Baa Atoll, Maldives © Guy Stevens, Manta Trust 2017)

Chondrichthyan systematics is an ever-changing and ever-advancing field. Names change, new species are described, species are “sunk” - sometimes the result of a “lump” (two or more previously recognised species are shown to in fact be the same species) - and old names are resurrected. Keeping up with these changes can be daunting for the non-taxonomist, but is essential in everything we do as SSG members. Indeed, taxonomy is a foundation of the life sciences. This field classifies and arranges the taxa we work on, from the higher level, to the species level. Knowing which species we are studying, managing, or conserving is the very foundation of the SSG’s mission.

Nearly one-third of sharks and rays are updated on IUCN Red List

10/12/2020

IUCN Shark Specialist Group nears the end of Global Shark Trends project..

A list of 422 shark, ray, and skate assessments that were published as part of the 2020-03 update is provided here: Excel | PDF. This includes many species from deep-sea, the Falklands, the Northeast Atlantic, the Southwest Atlantic, the North Pacific, the Southeast Pacific, and Southeast Asia. These assessments are an output of the SSG’s Global Shark Trends Project.

A New Era for the IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group

5/12/2020

Nicholas K. Dulvy | SSG Co-Chair

After nearly two decades of piecing together the global Red List assessments for all chondrichthyans, we are now in a position to take a much more strategic approach to complete the first full reassessment by 2020. In recent years, we have managed to keep Red List Assessments ticking along on a shoestring budget to undertake this vital task, with considerable efforts of volunteer members and staff. Part of the challenge has been the increasing scale of the backroom work required to review assessments and prepare them to the consistency standards of the IUCN Red List.

Introduction to the Global Shark Trends Project 2018-2020

1/12/2020

Assessing and reassessing the extinction risk of chondrichthyan species for the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is one of the core activities of the IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group (SSG). To undertake this activity, the SSG has commenced the Global Shark Trends Project (GSTP), a collaboration between Simon Fraser University, Charles Darwin University, James Cook University, and the Georgia Aquarium, funded through the Shark Conservation Fund.

New IUCN Report Charts Path to Saving Endangered Sawfish

7/6/2018

Shark Specialists Put Spotlight on Brazil in Strategy to Protect World’s Most Threatened Ray

Tonight at the Sharks International conference, the Shark Specialist Group (SSG) of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) reports on progress and new priorities associated with their Global Strategy to save the sawfishes, the world’s largest and most threatened rays. The expert update highlights the plight of Brazil’s Critically Endangered Largetooth Sawfish, and lays out clear steps for preventing extinction and restoring the population.

Global Sharks and Rays Initiative

1/12/2014

The Global Strategy for the Conservation of Sharks and Rays (2015–2025) is the product of an intensive 18-month strategic planning process incorporating extensive data analysis and synthesis, including a set of background documents, several technical workshops, and ongoing consultation and review

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