Safe Space for Sharks – ISRAS

​Important Shark and Ray Areas are the feature story in the fifth issue of Shark News, the IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group quarterly magazine. Dr Rima Jabado (Chair | IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group) and Dr Giuseppe Notarbartolo di Sciara (Co-Chair | IUCN Marine Mammal Protected Areas Task Force) provide an overview for the need of ISRAs, highlight lessons learnt from the Important Marine Mammal process, and their vision for this project.

From | Shark News Issue 05
Written by | Lauren De Vos
 
«Sharks and rays have never been in more trouble than now. With recent International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species updates positing that over a third of all species have a high risk of extinction, the need to explore new tools for their protection is urgent. The IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) Shark Specialist Group’s Important Shark and Ray Areas (ISRAs) initiative aims to identify key areas that play a critical role in the survival of sharks, rays, and chimaeras. Using the best available science and drawing on the existing experience from other Important Area processes, scientists hope to provide information on sharks, rays, and chimaeras and highlight these special areas to decision-makers.»

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Full article first published in the Shark News magazine (Issue 05 | April 2022)