​«Initiatives have been developed for specific taxa, such as birds (Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas) and marine mammals (Important Marine Mammal Areas) and for biodiversity more generally (Key Biodiversity Areas and Ecological or Biologically Significant Marine Areas). These approaches are now well accepted and utilized in spatial and conservation planning. Until recently, such an approach had yet to focus on sharks and their relatives, the rays and chimaeras (hereafter collectively referred to as sharks), one of the most threatened faunal lineages (37% of species are categorized as threatened with extinction on the IUCN Red List).» 

«The Important Shark and Ray Areas (ISRA) project has released the first electronic atlas of priority areas for sharks, rays, and chimaeras (also known as ‘ghost sharks’). Sharks and rays are some of the most threatened vertebrates on Earth, and are in desperate need of new and improved management. The ISRA project uses the best available science to identify regions across global waters most critical for the long term survival of sharks, rays, and chimaeras. These include places where species of concern mate, reproduce, feed, rest, or aggregate as well as key stopovers during a migration.»

A new analysis published today in the journal Nature documents an alarming, ongoing, global decline of oceanic shark and ray populations over the past 50 years, primarily due to overfishing. A team of experts from around the world assessed 31 species and found a 71% decline in global abundance since 1970, a period that saw a doubling of fishing pressure and a tripling of shark and ray catches. Three-quarters (77%) of oceanic shark and ray species now qualify as threatened with extinction under the Red List criteria of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

To shine light on and conserve rare shark, ray, and chimaera species (chondrichthyans), SFU researchers have developed a fully-resolved family tree and ranked every species according to the unique evolutionary history they account for.

Results from the 2017 IUCN Regional Red List assessment of 153 species of chondrichthyan fishes (sharks, rays, and chimaeras) indicate the Arabian Sea and adjacent waters are home to some of the most threatened chondrichthyan populations in the world.

Conventional wisdom holds that sharks can't be harvested in a sustainable manner because they are long-lived animals. It takes time for them to reproduce and grow in numbers. But, researchers reporting in Current Biology on February 6 have evidence to suggest that sustainable shark fishing can be done with careful, science-based management. In fact, they say, an outright shark ban won't work. The only way to protect sharks and the food security of people who depend on them is by managing shark fisheries sustainably.

Shark and ray experts from around the world gathered this week at the Zoological Society London to address the plight of the most threatened marine fishes in the world – the sawfishes. The group, convened by the Shark Specialist Group of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), is breaking new ground with the development of a focused global action plan to bring these iconic species back from the brink of extinction.