IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group
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News

Shark News | Issue 04 | January 2022

12/1/2022

 
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We want to invite you to discover the fourth issue of Shark News – the official IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) Shark Specialist Group (SSG) magazine.

Shark News provides a forum for the exchange of information on all aspects of shark, ray, and chimaera conservation matters for SSG members and the general interested audience.

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Shark News | Issue 03 | October 2021

8/10/2021

 
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We want to invite you to discover the third issue of Shark News – the official IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) Shark Specialist Group (SSG) magazine.

Shark News provides a forum for the exchange of information on all aspects of shark, ray, and chimaera conservation matters for SSG members and the general interested audience.

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A major step for protecting threatened sharks and rays in Bangladesh

28/9/2021

 
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WCS informs fishers during at-sea surveys about the legal protection of threatened sharks and rays in Bangladesh
This week the Government of Bangladesh took a major step to improve the protection of threatened sharks and rays by updating the list of species and species groups under the Wildlife (Conservation and Security) Act, 2012. The updated list empowers the strict protection of eight genera and 23 shark and ray species, while allowing the sustainable exploitation, consumption, and trade of one genus and 29 species if their catch is found to be non-detrimental to wild populations.

​Bangladesh is a global hotspot for sharks and rays. Many species are threatened with extinction without urgent action taken to protect them. Sharks and rays are highly valued for their fins, gill plates and skins exported to international markets, especially China.

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New Global Study Finds Unprecedented Shark and Ray Extinction Risk

6/9/2021

 
Experts classify one-third of chondrichthyan fish species as threatened, urge conservation action
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Guitarfishes and wedgefishes are among the most threatened rays, due to the high value of their large fins. This Whitespotted Wedgefish (Rhynchobatus djiddensis) reaches over 3 metres long and is classified as Critically Endangered by IUCN. Protea Banks, South Africa. Photo by Matthew D. Potenski | mdp.myportfolio.com
A new analysis published today in the journal Current Biology finds that one-third of the world’s chondrichthyan fishes – sharks, rays, and chimaeras – are now threatened with extinction according to International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List criteria.
In this new global analysis, experts assessed 1,199 shark, ray, and chimaera species against International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List criteria and found 391 (32%) qualify as Critically Endangered, Endangered, or Vulnerable. Species classified in these three IUCN categories are considered threatened with extinction. That statistic increases to more than one-third (37.5%) if Data Deficient species are assumed to be threatened in the same proportion as assessed species.

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Shark News | Issue 02 | July 2021

25/7/2021

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

"This second issue is even more packed with incredible stories. As you know, the challenge of shark conservation requires merging different scientific fields so we can achieve our ultimate goal of healthy shark populations. The contents of this issue reflect just that! It is loaded with information on projects being carried out across the world. It is clear that SSG members have been busy, and these stories bring optimism and hope that together we can and are making a difference." – Excerpt from Rima Jabado's Editorial

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

29/4/2021

 
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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.
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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 | Issue 01 | April 2021

20/4/2021

 
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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.

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Research for conservation and management

19/4/2021

 
Region Update | Indian Ocean
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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).

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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​
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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.

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Report on the meeting of the Working Group on Recreational Fishing

18/4/2021

 
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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.

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Pakistan- Sawfish status and update

18/4/2021

 
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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).

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

18/4/2021

 
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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.

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Recently Published

18/4/2021

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

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

17/4/2021

 
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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.

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Curious about what shark species occur in South Africa?

17/4/2021

 

First SA Shark checklist – Published

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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.

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Assessing Extinction Risk for Global Shark Trends

20/12/2020

 
​Peter M. Kyne | SSG Red List Authority Coordinator
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© Olivier Born | Save Our Seas Foundation 2019
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.

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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
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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.​

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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..
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Lost Shark Carcharhinus obseletus | © Lindsay Marshall (stickfigurefish.com.au)
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.

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A New Era for the IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group

5/12/2020

 
​Nicholas K. Dulvy | SSG Co-Chair
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​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.

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Introduction to the Global Shark Trends Project 2018-2020

1/12/2020

 
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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.

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  • Home
  • About
    • Mission & Vision
    • Sponsors
    • Communication >
      • Visual Identity and Brand Guide
      • Communication Strategy
    • Documents
    • Membership | TOR
    • FAQ
  • Members
    • Who We Are >
      • Our Team
      • Our Members
      • Our History
    • Where We Work >
      • North America
      • Central America and the Caribbean
      • South America
      • Northern Europe
      • Mediterranean
      • Africa
      • Indian Ocean
      • ​Asia
      • Oceania
    • What We Do >
      • Aquarium Working Group
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  • Resources
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      • SSG Statements
      • Identification Guide
      • Trade
      • Other
    • Scientific References
    • Conservation Strategies >
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      • Conservation Strategies: Devil and Manta Rays
      • Conservation Strategies: Angel Sharks
    • Policy Planning >
      • CITES >
        • CITES 17th CoP
      • The Convention on Migratory Species and Sharks
      • The Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation of Migratory Sharks (Sharks MOU)
      • The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and Sharks
      • RFMOs
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