Polar waters: A regional compendium of Important Shark and Ray Areas

The fifth region targeted by the Important Shark and Ray Areas (ISRA) project covered the Polar Waters (Region 1). Stemming from the workshop in Tirana, Albania from 27-29 May, 2024, this resulted in the delineation of 34 ISRAs, four candidate ISRAs, and 11 Areas of Interest.

The fifth Important Shark and Ray Areas (ISRA) regional expert workshop was held in hybrid mode (in person and online) in Tirana, Albania from 27–29 May 2024. The goal was to identify and delineate three-dimensional and discrete portions of habitat that are critical to the survival of sharks, rays, and chimaeras (hereafter ‘sharks’), and that have the potential to be managed for conservation. The region covered was Polar Waters. This scientific collaboration amongst regional and global experts resulted in the identification of 34 Important Shark and Ray Areas, four candidate ISRA, and 11 Areas of Interest. Identified ISRAs range in size from small areas of 70.42 km2 at depths of 50-80 m (North Sea Central Graben in Norway) to very large areas of 100,877 km2 (Heard Island & McDonald Islands which spans waters of Australia and France) from 200 to 1,220 m.

Cite as:
​Jabado RW, García-Rodríguez E, Kyne PM, Charles R, Bettcher Brito V, Armstrong AO, Gonzalez-Pestana A, Batlle-Morera A, Palacios MD, Rohner CA. 2024. Polar waters: A regional compendium of Important Shark and Ray Areas. Dubai: IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group. https://doi.org/10.59216/ssg.isra.2024.r1

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