Category: IUCN Red List

Sawfish face global extinction unless overfishing is curbed

10/2/2021

Sawfish have disappeared from half of the world's coastal waters and the distinctive shark-like rays face complete extinction due to overfishing, according to a new study by Simon Fraser University researchers, published in Science Advances.

PRESS RELEASE | Simon Fraser University, Canada | February 10, 2021

Sawfish, named after their unique long, narrow noses lined by teeth, called rostra, that resemble a sawblade, were once found along the coastlines of 90 countries but they are now among the world’s most threatened family of marine fishes, presumed extinct from 46 of those nations. There are 18 countries where at least one species of sawfish is missing, and 28 more where two species have disappeared

Oceanic Sharks and Rays Face Unprecedented Extinction Risk from Overfishing

27/1/2021

Ground-breaking New Study Finds Global Abundance Down 71% and 77% of species threatened

PRESS RELEASE | January 27, 2021

Great Hammerhead Shark (Sphryna mokarran) © Neil Hammerschlag

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).

A Special Group of Rays Are Now World’s Most Threatened Marine Fish

18/7/2019

IUCN Shark Specialist Group Flags Need to Protect Critically Endangered “Rhino Rays”

PRESS RELEASE | London, 18 July, 2019

Whitespotted Wedgefish (Rhynchobatus djiddensis) © Matthew D. Potenski

Giant guitarfishes and wedgefishes, collectively called Rhino Rays, are now the world’s most threatened marine fish, based on new Red List assessments released today by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Shark Specialist Group (SSG). All but one of the 16 warm-water, shark-like ray species are assessed as Critically Endangered due primarily to overfishing for meat and fins.

Shark Overfishing Reflected in Updated IUCN Red List

21/3/2019

Experts call for conservation action as more species qualify as Endangered

PRESS RELEASE | London, 21 March, 2019

Shortfin Mako (Isurus oxyrinchus) © Jeremy Stafford-Deitsch, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

The Shark Specialist Group (SSG) of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) today released updated Red List Assessments for 58 species of sharks and rays, 17 of which were classified as threatened with extinction. The results are part of a global project to assess population trends based on a series of expert workshops, the first of which focused on Australian species as well as oceanic species found worldwide.

Over half of the Arabian Seas Region’s sharks, rays, and chimaeras are at risk of extinction

15/8/2017

PRESS RELEASE | Abu Dhabi, U.A.E. | August 15, 2017

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.

World Conservation Congress 2016

9/5/2016

IUCN Congress: Marine Species Expert Panel Reviews Conservation Successes and Challenge

PRESS RELEASE | Honolulu, Hawai’i | May 9, 2016

A panel of leading experts in fishes has gathered in the IUCN World Conservation Congress Species Pavilion to discuss the surge of interest in ocean health, and the effect of this surge on conservation successes and challenges. Organized by the IUCN Species Survival Commission Shark Specialist Group, panelists discussed the growing number of marine species assessed under the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, and how to ensure that threatened species assessments prompt effective conservation action.

Endangered Sawfish: IUCN Strategy Released as Global Protection Proposed

5/6/2014

Shark Specialists Prioritize Recovery of World’s Largest, Most Threatened Rays

PRESS RELEASE | Durban, South Africa | June 5, 2014

Credit David Wachenfeld: Largetooth sawfish Pristis pristis in an aquarium

The Shark Specialist Group (SSG) of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is today releasing a global strategy to prevent extinction and promote recovery of sawfishes, which have been devastated worldwide by overfishing and habitat loss. The strategy is being launched at the Sharks International conference in Durban and coincides with announcements that two West Africa countries -- Guinea and Guinea Bissau -- are proposing the listing of sawfishes under the Convention on Migratory Species in November, which could significantly boost protections.

One Quarter of Sharks and Rays Threatened with Extinction

21/1/2014

A quarter of the world's sharks and rays are threatened with extinction, according to IUCN Red List™ criteria, with rays at greater risk than sharks

PRESS RELEASE | Gland, Switzerland | January 21, 2014

The findings, published today in the journal eLife, are part of a global assessment of 1,041 species conducted by the IUCN Shark Specialist Group. Ray and sharks are at substantially higher risk than most other groups of animals and have the lowest percentage of species considered safe. Overfishing is the main threat.

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