topic: Sharks And Rays

topic: Sharks And Rays

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CITES halts Ecuador’s shark trade; trafficking persists amid lack of transparency
- Ecuador is one of the top exporters of sharks in the world.
- In February, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) suspended commercial trade in sharks and rays from Ecuador, after the country had failed to take measures to guarantee sharks were being fished sustainably.
- Protected species from Ecuador enter Peru through the cities of Tumbes and Piura. The fins are then sent to Asia, but the meat is sold in local markets.
- A lack of transparency has made it difficult to stem this criminal trade, according to experts consulted by Mongabay Latam.

Study identifies species with a long history but short future amid threats
- A new study analyzing human-driven extinction threats to jawed vertebrates warns that we could lose between 86 billion and 160 billion years’ worth of evolutionary history over the next 50-500 years without concerted conservation action to save unique species.
- The study is the latest in an increasing body of research that indicates evolutionarily distinctive species are frequently also those most at risk of extinction.
- Turtles and tortoises, sharks and rays, and ray-finned fish were identified as among the groups of species most at risk of extinction.
- Given that global targets under the U.N. Global Biodiversity Framework are based on safeguarding evolutionary history, the authors call on conservationists and policymakers to do more to protect such evolutionarily distinct and globally endangered species.

Summit on migratory species sides with science, throws shade on deep-sea mining
- Representatives from 133 member states of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) met in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, from Feb. 12-17 to discuss measures to protect migratory species on a global scale.
- Many decisions at the meeting, known as COP14, focused on the protection of marine species, including the listing of several species in the convention’s appendices, a draft decision on vessel strikes, and an updated resolution on climate change that urges parties to take measures to protect species from future threats.
- The convention also adopted a resolution urging parties not to engage with or support deep-sea mining until more scientific evidence is acquired. This resolution garnered criticism from the secretary-general of the International Seabed Authority (ISA), the U.N.-mandated body that governs deep-sea mining in international waters.
- While attendees say COP14 had many successes, some experts say that more action and resources are required to keeping species from sliding toward extinction.

In East Java, social media push against Indonesia shark & ray trade lacks bite
- Over a period of four months in late 2023, Mongabay spoke with fishers and traders dealing primarily in rays and sharks in Indonesia’s East Java province.
- Advertisements for shark and ray products continued to feature on social media platforms despite pledges by companies to prevent users from conducting transactions in wildlife.
- Indonesia’s fisheries ministry said more needs to be done to enhance traceability to crack down on trade in protected shark and ray species.

DNA probe uncovers threatened shark species in Thailand’s markets
- A shark DNA investigation has revealed the presence of shark species threatened with extinction in products commonly sold in Thailand’s markets.
- The study identified products derived from 15 shark species, more than a third of which have never been recorded in Thai waters, highlighting the scale of the international shark trade.
- Marine conservation groups say the findings underscore that consumers of shark fin soup and other shark products could well be complicit in the demise of threatened species that fulfill vital roles in maintaining ocean balance.
- Experts have called on Thai policymakers to improve traceability in shark trade supply chains, expand marine protected areas, and make greater investments in marine research.

2023’s top ocean news stories (commentary)
- Marine scientists from six international research and conservation institutions share their list of the top ocean news stories from 2023.
- Hopeful developments this past year include a monumental global treaty to protect biodiversity on the high seas and the regulation of international trade in 97 species of sharks and rays under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
- At the same time, 2023 was the hottest year on record, with widespread bleaching of corals in the Caribbean and Great Barrier Reef, and many more hot years forecast as humanity’s emissions of greenhouse gases that cause global warming continue.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily Mongabay.

‘Shark dust’ helps researchers ID threatened species in Indonesia fish trade
- Researchers have developed a new tool to identify a wide range of threatened and protected sharks being processed at fish factories in Indonesia.
- The method relies on DNA analysis of “shark dust,” the tiny fragments of skin and cartilage swept from the floors of fish-processing plants and export warehouses.
- From 28 shark dust samples collected from seven processing plants across Java Island, they found the genetic sequences of 61 shark and ray species.
- About 84% of these are CITES-listed species, meaning there are official restrictions in place on the international trade in these species.

The ex-shark fishermen teaching schoolkids how to protect the environment
- Shark conservationist Kathy Xu joined with ex-shark fishermen on the Indonesian island of Lombok to launch The Dorsal Effect.
- The eco-enterprise teaches students about the marine environment through snorkeling trips, coral health checks and beach trash cleanups.
- The Dorsal Effect helps provide an alternative source of income for the former shark fishermen of Lombok and aims to stop the shark finning trade.

Congo’s waters are hotspot for endangered sharks & rays, reveals data from artisanal fishers
- A new shark census off the coast of the Republic of the Congo relied on hard-earned trust between researchers and artisanal fishermen.
- The team found endangered sharks and rays on potential nursery grounds, including juveniles and two species thought to be gone from the region.
- The authors recommend conservation strategies to protect endangered species without harming the livelihoods of Congolese fishermen.

In Indonesia, ‘opportunistic’ whale shark fishery shows gap in species protection
- Indonesia has since 2013 banned the capture, trade and exploitation of whale sharks, a protected species.
- Yet scores of records from 2002-2022 shown whale sharks continue to be butchered and sold along the southeastern coast of Java Island after either beaching or being unintentionally caught by fishers, according to a new study.
- The continuing illegal exploitation shows the need for more awareness raising against it by conservation authorities and groups, experts say.
- Indonesia is home to the longest coastline in Asia, and its waters serve as both a habitat and an important migratory route for species of marine megafauna like whale sharks.

Indonesian illegal shark and ray exports remain rampant amid poor monitoring
- Indonesia allows the trade of some endangered shark and ray species, but illegal exports remain rampant and unchecked.
- Mongabay-Indonesia conducted an investigation earlier this year to learn about the regulations, the loopholes and the challenges within the complex trade and fisheries of sharks and rays.
- The investigation found that the lack of oversight in the field was the leading cause of illegal shark and ray trade in the country.
- Indonesia is home to more than a quarter of the world’s 400 known shark species; a fifth of all shark species are endangered.

Sharks deserve our appreciation and protection (commentary)
- Shark Awareness Day is celebrated on July 14 every year: though widely feared and sometimes vilified, sharks actually play a key role in ocean health and are rarely a threat to humans.
- “We must all take action to protect sharks, and raising awareness and educating others about the importance of sharks is a great spot to start,” a new op-ed argues.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Tangled in marine debris, skate egg cases dry up and die on Peruvian beaches
- A new study has found that shorttail fanskate populations may be being affected by plastic pollution.
- The skates mistake abandoned fishing nets and other debris for seaweed and attach their eggs to them, unaware that the debris could wash up on the shore where the eggs will dry out.
- Shorttail fanskates (Sympterygia brevicaudata) are considered near threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Several reef sharks at greater threat of extinction than thought, study shows
- A new study found that five key reef shark species — gray, blacktip, whitetip and Caribbean reef sharks, and nurse sharks — declined by 60-73% worldwide.
- It also indicated that all five species would qualify as endangered on the IUCN Red List.
- Early results from the study were used to escalate the status of two of the five species to endangered, but the others are still considered to have a lower extinction risk.
- The study also showed that well-governed or protected reefs had healthier shark populations.

A Southeast Asian marine biodiversity hotspot is also a wildlife trafficking hotbed
- A recent report documents the seizure of 25,000 live animals and more than 120,000 metric tons of wildlife, parts and plants from the Sulu and Celebes seas between 2003 and 2021.
- The animals trafficked include rays, sharks and turtles, mostly between Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia, for which the region forms a maritime border zone.
- The people of the Sulu and Celebes seas region have strong transboundary cultural and trade links, prompting experts to call for enhanced international cooperation in enforcement efforts.

Uterine implants and underwater ultrasounds aim to demystify shark births
- For years, studying the reproductive biology of sharks has depended on capturing the animals and dissecting them.
- Scientists recently developed the Birth Alert Tag, an egg-shaped satellite transmitter that can be implanted in the uterus of pregnant sharks to document the location and timing of births.
- In another development, scientists took ultrasound readings of whale sharks and sampled their blood to detect if they were pregnant.
- The new methods aim to help researchers determine sharks’ pregnancy status and the location of shark births; one goal is to inform the establishment of corridors to protect the animals, which are among the most vulnerable vertebrates on Earth.

‘Manta grid’ provides a ray of hope against industrial bycatch threat
- Most species of manta and devil rays (genus Mobula) are endangered, yet industrial purse seine fishing vessels unintentionally catch about 13,000 each year while hunting tuna, according to one scientific estimate.
- New regulations, handling techniques and equipment aim to reduce this number.
- Fishers are working with scientists to return the rays, which are slippery and can weigh as much as a small car, back into the sea when they are brought on deck in fishing nets.
- At the same time, experts warn that far more mobulids die in gillnets set by small-scale and semi-industrial local fishers in countries throughout the tropics.

Study: Paying fishers to ease off sharks and rays is cost-effective conservation
- Paying fishers in Indonesia to not catch sharks and rays could be a cost-effective way of conserving these species, a new study suggests.
- Interviews with fishers at two sites shows that payments of $71,408-$235,927 per year could protect up to 18,500 hammerheads and 2,140 wedgefish at those sites.
- Researchers say this money could come from dive tourism levies, and they are already carrying out a pilot project that has seen fishers release more than 150 hammerheads and wedgefish in eight months.
- An independent expert cautions that there need to be safeguards to prevent a perverse incentive where fishers are deliberately catching these species just so they can release them and claim payment.

Good fisheries management, if enforced, can help sharks and rays recover
- Effective fisheries management, strong regulations, enforcement, and monitoring can help conserve sharks and rays, according to new research.
- Researchers found that some shark populations in the northwest Atlantic recovered after the U.S. implemented a management plan in 1993, despite ongoing fishing, while populations in areas without sufficient management declined.
- A previous study found that overfishing threatens one-third of sharks, rays and chimeras with extinction, making them the second-most endangered vertebrate group, after amphibians.

More than half of reef sharks and rays threatened with extinction, study shows
- More than half of known species of coral reef sharks and rays are already threatened with extinction, mostly because of overfishing, according to new research.
- The researchers reported that population trends were declining for 94 coral reef shark and ray species; of the two groups, rays were more threatened than sharks.
- Reef sharks and rays are typically caught for human consumption, and to a lesser extent for use in apparel or accessories, in aquarium displays, as food for domestic animals, and in traditional medicine.
- The study calls for urgent urgent measures to improve regional fisheries and marine protected areas management.

Sharks received landmark protection to combat fin trade, but the culling must stop (commentary)
- CITES CoP19 marked a historic win for shark conservation and the fight against the global trade in shark fins and meat, but an equally critical issue that must be tackled is shark culling.
- For many decades, popular culture and media, through the choice of words and visual depictions, have portrayed sharks as a threat to humans. Several countries actively kill sharks in mass numbers to control their presence near beaches.
- While shark nets and drumlines can separate the sharks from the humans at beaches, they aren’t fully effective. There are new methods that use technology, like electric shark repellents and magnetic and visual stimuli, work better to prevent human-shark encounters.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

Strong marine protected areas credited with manta ray surge in Indonesia
- Manta ray populations are thriving in Indonesia’s Raja Ampat archipelago, a new population assessment shows, highlighting the importance of marine protected areas to the species’ conservation.
- The study showed that reef manta ray (Mobula alfredi) populations saw up to 10.7% compound annual increase from 2009-2019 in the region, even as global ray and shark populations undergo a sweeping decline.
- The study authors attribute this to well-planned and -implemented conservation measures by Indonesian authorities, conservation groups and local communities.
- The finding chimes with the discovery earlier this year that manta ray populations are also flourishing in Komodo National Park, another tightly regulated protected area in Indonesia.

Landmark bill will ban the shark fin trade in the US
- On Dec. 15, the U.S. Senate passed legislation that will ban the shark fin trade within the nation.
- It’s estimated that fins from as many as 73 million sharks annually end up in the global market, but it is difficult to fully grasp the size and severity of the shark fin industry since much of it is unregulated.
- This forthcoming ban follows other measures to protect sharks, including the listing of many shark species on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and a ban on gear that is used to target sharks in the Pacific.

Shark-fishing gear banned across much of Pacific in conservation ‘win’
- The Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission has outlawed shark lines and wire leaders, both of which aid industrial-scale fishers in targeting sharks.
- Shark numbers in the open ocean have dropped by roughly 71% in the past 50 years.
- Proponents consider the measure a potentially precedent-setting move that could precede similar bans in other regions.

New protections for sharks, songbirds, frogs and more at CITES trade summit
- The 19th meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, or CITES, known as CoP19, ended Nov. 25 in Panama, after two weeks of negotiations.
- Member states agreed on new trade regulations for more than 600 animal and plant species, including the protection of sharks, glass frogs, turtles, songbirds and tropical timber species.
- Experts say that while these new regulations are essential, implementing and enforcing the rules will have the most significant conservation impact.

No requiem for sharks just yet as nations push to protect species from trade
- Nations party to CITES, the global convention on the trade in endangered species, are supporting three proposals to list dozens of sharks and rays from three families onto Appendix II of the convention.
- While a CITES Appendix II listing would not prohibit trade outright, it would regulate it by requiring export permits, which would help mitigate overexploitation.
- A recent study found that more than a third of sharks, rays and chimeras are threatened with extinction, making them the second-most threatened vertebrate group, after amphibians.
- The proposals are up for discussion at CITES’s 19th Conference of the Parties, or CoP19, taking place from Nov. 14-25 in Panama.

Greenland shark, world’s longest-living vertebrate, gets long-awaited protection
- In September, the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO), an intergovernmental organization that manages fisheries, prohibited the retention of Greenland sharks in international waters.
- This ban would apply to the intentional catching of Greenland sharks as well as the retention of the species as bycatch.
- However, bycatch exceptions could be made if countries prohibit the discarding of fish.
- Greenland sharks are known to be the longest-living vertebrate in the world, reaching ages of between 270 and 500 years.

Stingrays can ‘talk’ when they get riled up, new study suggests
- A new paper provides the first evidence that wild stingray species produce short, loud clicking sounds.
- While scientists still need to learn how and why stingrays make these noises, they speculate that the clicking sounds are a distress or defense signal.
- The paper documents three instances of this behavior in mangrove whiprays and cowtail stingrays, two species threatened with extinction.

Where do the guitarfish go? Scientists and fishers team up to find out
- In late March and early April of this year, a team of researchers and local fishers caught, sampled and released more than 50 sharks and rays in the Bijagós Archipelago of Guinea-Bissau, including several threatened species.
- A first for conservation, researchers tagged members of a critically endangered ray species, the blackchin guitarfish (Glaucostegus cemiculus), with satellite transmitters.
- Team leader Guido Leurs says the research will provide crucial information for policymakers to better protect sharks and rays in Guinea-Bissau.
- Fisheries management within the archipelago, which spans 12,950 square kilometers (5,000 square miles) and 88 islands, is a challenge for the West African nation.

Study finds major brands selling cat food that contain protected sharks
- Researchers used DNA barcoding to find that cat food sold in Singapore from at least 16 different brands contained threatened species of sharks, including silky sharks (Carcharhinus falciformis) that are protected under CITES Appendix II.
- Leading brands such as Fancy Feast, Whiskas, and Sheba were amongst those found to contain silky sharks and other species.
- None of these cat food products were accurately labeled to show that they contained sharks.
- Global shark populations are in sharp decline, mainly due to destructive fishing practices.

Belize shows how fishers and researchers can collaborate to protect sharks
- A new study found that Caribbean reef sharks (Carcharhinus perezi) experienced a decline between 2009 and 2019 at Glovers Reef Marine Reserve, a marine protected area off the coast of Belize.
- The researchers theorized that the decline had to do with legal shark fishing that had been permitted on the edges of the MPA since 2016.
- The researchers worked with government officials and the fishing community to implement no-take zones that extended 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) around Glover’s Reef Atoll, as well as around two other sites: Lighthouse Reef Atoll and Turneffe Atoll.
- While it’s too early to tell if the new restrictions are having a positive impact, experts say they’re hopeful that Caribbean reef sharks will bounce back.

Ecuador to announce creation of Hermandad Marine Reserve off Galapagos (commentary)
- “Ecuador is proud to announce the creation of the Hermandad Marine Reserve in the coming days,” the country’s president announces in a statement shared with Mongabay.
- Safeguarding the critical migration routes of vital species like whale sharks and sea turtles will result in healthier and more abundant populations, he says.
- Covering an additional 60,000 square kilometers near the Galapagos, in addition to the existing 138,000 square kilometers, the new reserve will ensure a safe pathway for creatures traveling to and from Costa Rica’s Cocos Island.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Advocates welcome halt to shortfin mako shark fishing, call for longer ban
- Nations have agreed to effectively ban the fishing of endangered shortfin mako sharks in the North Atlantic from 2022 to 2023.
- Conservationists say the retention ban — which means fishers will not be allowed to land the sharks, even those caught accidentally — is a positive step, but that it’s too short to adequately help the species recover.
- It’s estimated that shortfin mako shark populations in the North Atlantic will decline by 60% over the next decade.

Study shines a light on Indonesia’s murky shark fishery and trade
- Indonesia is home to one-fifth of known shark and ray species and to the world’s largest shark and ray fishery, but a recent study reveals gaps in fisheries regulations that facilitate illegal and unregulated trade.
- Earlier this year, scientists reported that shark and ray numbers have declined globally by some 70% over the last half century, lending fresh urgency to improving fisheries regulations and limits on landings.
- The recent study revealed major discrepancies between export and import figures between Indonesia and trading partners. It also documented the complex web of domestic trade in shark and ray products and a surge in live exports.
- Authorities face challenges with verifying the origin of a vast array of processed shark and ray products, from fins and cartilage to meat and oils; new techniques that enable authorities to use DNA barcoding to identify protected species have the potential to close regulatory loopholes and protect threatened species.

Beached whale shark in Indonesia reportedly cut up by locals to eat
- Locals in Indonesia’s West Java province reportedly cut up and ate a whale shark that washed up on a beach last week.
- Authorities have deplored the incident, noting that the species is protected under Indonesian law.
- Marine animal strandings are common in Indonesia as its waters serve as both a habitat and an important migratory route for dozens of species.

Overfishing threatens to wipe out bowmouth guitarfish in Indonesia, study says
- A study has found that uncontrolled fishing of wedgefish, a family of rays, in Indonesia threatens to push the bowmouth guitarfish to extinction.
- The bowmouth guitarfish and the white-spotted guitarfish are the most commonly caught wedgefish species in Indonesia, with their fins supplying the shark fin trade.
- Researchers have called on the government to impose full protection of juvenile wedgefish and a reduction in catches of bowmouth guitarfish specifically to ensure their survival.
- Both the bowmouth and white-spotted guitarfish are critically endangered species, but neither is included in Indonesia’s protected species list.

New research hopes to shine a light on wedgefish, the ‘pangolin of the ocean’
- Wedgefish, a type of ray, are some of the least-known and most endangered fish in the ocean.
- A new research project in Mozambique is employing two types of tags, acoustic and satellite, to better understand two of these critically endangered species.
- Researchers aim to uncover the species’ range and habitat requirements to preserve them from extinction.
- Wedgefish are heavily targeted by the shark-fin trade, and their populations have declined precipitously throughout much of their range.

For manta rays, parasitic hitchhikers can be a pain in the rear, study finds
- A new study has found that 13 species closely associate with reef manta rays and oceanic manta rays in the Maldives.
- The associations between the manta rays and these other species are not always mutually beneficial, with the “hitchhiking” species usually gaining more benefits than they give to the manta rays.
- The study is based on more than 76,5000 sightings of the two manta ray species over a 30-year period.

In Gabon, a new partnership protects sharks and rays
- The diversity of habitat in Gabon’s waters creates a perfect home for a wide range of shark and ray species: from whale sharks to giant manta rays, scalloped hammerheads, and guitarfish.
- A partnership between the government and conservation NGO Wildlife Conservation Society highlights a new global initiative to save the world’s sharks and rays, launched this World Ocean Day.
- The first new law fully regulates shark and ray catches and special authorization will now be needed to target sharks and rays, and a second adds a wide range of sharks and rays to Gabon’s list of fully protected marine species.
- This article is an analysis. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily Mongabay.

Indonesian researchers study how to help rays released as bycatch survive
- Researchers in Indonesia are studying the survival rate of manta rays and devil rays released after being caught unintentionally by fishers.
- The study, which has so far tagged five of the animals with satellite trackers, aims to come up with best practices to boost the survival of these threatened rays.
- Populations of mantas and devils rays, from the genus Mobula, have been hit by the global trade of their parts, particularly their gills, for traditional medicine and food.

Shark catastrophe points to failure to enact global biodiversity agreements
- A high-profile study published in Nature found a 70% decline in shark and ray populations over the last half century.
- Like many other taxonomic groups, shark and ray declines are driven by human actions — in this case, overfishing by commercial fisheries.
- Experts are calling for a retention ban by the EU to prevent the collapse of threatened shark populations.

Sharks on a knife’s edge as Maldives mulls lifting 10-year fishing ban
- Eleven years ago, the Maldives created a 90,000-square-kilometer (34,750-square-mile) sanctuary that banned shark fishing, but fisheries minister Zaha Waheed said recently that the government may be planning to lift the ban.
- Conservationists say reopening shark fisheries in the Maldives would have devastating effects on shark populations and adversely affect tourism, which brings millions of dollars into the country each year.
- There are unofficial reports the Maldivian government will not be lifting the shark fishing ban, possibly in response to the local and international outcry.
- But a local expert says there are still grounds for concern if long-line fisheries are allowed to operate in the shark sanctuary, or if a legislative loophole is introduced that would allow shark fishing to recommence in some capacity.

Scientists discover three glow-in-the-dark sharks
- Researchers have discovered that three deep-sea shark species — the kitefin shark (Dalatias licha), the blackbelly lanternshark (Etmopterus lucifer), and the southern lanternshark (Etmopterus granulosus) — all have bioluminescent properties.
- The kitefin shark, which glows blue, is the largest known vertebrate to emit bioluminescence.
- Further research is needed to fully understand how and why these sharks emit light.

Human impacts leave reefs short on sharks and long on moray eels
- A new study found that moray eels are more abundant on reefs where sharks are absent due to human pressures.
- The paper hypothesizes that moray eels might be benefiting from a reduction in predators and competition for food, although this hasn’t been proven.
- The authors say a lot more research is needed to assess the relationship between sharks and moray eels, and to understand the ecological role moray eels play in the marine environment.

Efforts to tackle shark fin trade need to focus closer to shore, study says
- A new study has found that shark fins being sold in Hong Kong, Vancouver, San Francisco and northern Brazil originated mostly from shark species in coastal waters, rather than the open ocean.
- The research team analyzed 500 shark fin samples using DNA barcoding techniques, and generated species distribution models to illustrate the areas in which these sharks were likely fished.
- While these findings can help focus conservation efforts in coastal regions, they can also introduce new challenges with fishing vessel monitoring efforts, the team says.

Landed by the thousands: Overfished Congo waters put endangered sharks at risk
- More than 100 commercial trawlers and about 700 smaller boats of the Republic of Congo’s artisanal fleet are putting intense pressure on 42 shark and ray species, according to a new survey by TRAFFIC, an NGO that tracks the global wildlife trade. All are on the IUCN red list.
- The 150-mile Congo coast makes up a tiny part of Africa’s shoreline, but overfishing is taking a heavy toll. One example: Ten thousand metric tons of hammerheads were reported caught in Congo from 2007 through 2017 — the equivalent weight of 10,000 small cars.
- Republic of Congo is a signatory of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), but not one CITES-listed shark species is on the country’s endangered species list. A new law aimed at meeting international commitments has been in the works since 2018, but has not been ratified by the Parliament.
- A new international market incentivized shark fishing around 2000, with the arrival of Chinese companies in Congo. The fins are exported illegally to Asia for shark fin soup, but authorities say they have no idea how the shark fins are being smuggled out of the country. Without knowledge of export routes, little can be done to prevent the illegal trade.

Sharks nearby? A bottle of seawater can hold the answer, study says
- A new study has been able to identify the presence of blacktip sharks in the waters of Terra Ceia Bay in Florida through eDNA detection in water samples.
- The water samples contained more blacktip eDNA in the spring and summer months, which is when the species uses the bay as a nursery, and less eDNA in the fall, which is when the sharks start to leave the area.
- While the current technique indicates if sharks are present in the water, it isn’t sensitive enough to provide an accurate population count.

Sharks are ‘functionally extinct’ in many global reef systems, study finds
- A new study surveyed 371 coral reefs in 58 countries, and found sharks were virtually absent from 20% of the surveyed reefs, indicating that they were functionally extinct from these ecosystems.
- The research team collected 15,165 hours of video via baited remote underwater video stations (BRUVS), and used this data to analyze shark abundance on global reef systems.
- The absence of sharks was usually connected to poor governance of nearby human settlements, including unregulated and destructive fisheries.
- While sharks were missing from many reefs around the world, other locations boasted healthy shark populations due to rigorous conservation efforts.

Shark fin stories by major media ‘misleading’: Q&A with David Shiffman
- “There are many threats facing sharks, but [finning] gets the most attention,” says David Shiffman.
- Overfishing presents the greatest threat to sharks, not the practice of finning, he says, yet finning gets the most media coverage and that consequently skews popular opinion, and policy.
- An analysis of 10 years of media reports recently published by Shiffman et al in the journal iScience shows that 2/3 of all articles in the media about threats to sharks focused on finning, and the trade in shark fins.
- “The solution overwhelmingly supported by surveyed scientific experts is not banning fishing for sharks and trade in shark products, but making fishing more sustainable,” he says in this conversation with Mongabay.

Mercury with that? Shark fins served with illegal doses of heavy metals
- A new study has found that most processed shark fins have mercury and methyl-mercury levels five to 10 times higher than the legal maximum amount of 0.5 parts per million, as specified by the Centre for Food Safety (CFS) in Hong Kong.
- The research team tested shark fins from nine of the most common species used in shark fin soup, including blue sharks, silky sharks and great hammerheads.
- While little is known about the impacts of mercury on sharks themselves, humans can suffer serious health problems when they consume mercury-rich foods over a long period of time.
- The research team say they hope the Hong Kong government will begin its own testing processes and generate accurate warnings about the mercury levels in shark fins.

Bid to get ‘aquatic wild meat’ off the menu and under protection
- The term “aquatic wild meat,” or “marine bushmeat,” refers to the hunting of marine mammals, reptiles, seabirds and now some sharks and rays.
- The hunting takes place all over the world and has increased in recent years as small-scale fishers have lost access to fish and other marine resources.
- Last week, delegates representing more than 80 countries took steps to address the issue of aquatic wild meat at the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals conference in Gandhinagar, India.
- Other outcomes of the conference included adding 10 new species to the convention’s protected lists, including the jaguar and Asian elephant, recognizing the culture of wild animals, and calling for migratory species to be considered in national climate and energy policies.

Recreational fishers are increasingly targeting sharks and rays, and researchers are concerned
- New research estimating the haul of recreational fishers around the world finds that sharks and rays are increasingly being targeted, and that has researchers worried.
- As of 2014, researchers estimate, about 900,000 metric tons of fish were extracted from marine waters by recreational fishers. That’s up from 280,000 metric tons in the 1950s, but still less than 1% of total global marine catches.
- The researchers found that catches of cartilaginous fish like sharks and rays has increased steadily over the past six decades, and now comprises some 54,000 metric tons, or about 6% of the annual catch for recreational purposes.

In Indonesian waters, filter feeders can ingest dozens to hundreds of microplastic particles every hour
- Researchers looked at plastic pollution in three coastal feeding grounds in Indonesia that are frequented by manta rays (Mobula alfredi) and whale sharks (Rhincodon typus): Nusa Penida Marine Protected Area, Komodo National Park, and Pantai Bentar, East Java.
- After estimating the amount of microplastic particles that are present in the waters of their three study areas, the researchers were then able to determine how much of that plastic might find its way into the digestive tracts of reef manta rays and whale sharks.
- They found that reef manta rays may eat up to 63 pieces of plastic per hour when feeding in Nusa Penida and Komodo National Park, while whale sharks could be consuming up to 137 pieces per hour during seasonal aggregations in Java.

Manta rays are social creatures who are choosy about their friends
- Researchers have found evidence of structured social relationships among wild, free-ranging reef manta rays. The rays appear to actively choose other individuals to socialize with, according to a study published in the journal Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology last week.
- The researchers say that certain social groups were regularly seen together at specific cleaning stations, where the rays are cleaned by cleaner wrasse and other small fish, suggesting that they may be using those sites as meet-up points. Some rays were observed returning frequently to certain cleaning stations despite the close proximity of several other sites.
- Reef manta rays are listed as Vulnerable to extinction on the IUCN Red List, which reports that the ray’s numbers are believed to have declined by as much as 30 percent globally over the last 75 years. The researchers hope that by revealing the social lives of manta rays, they can help build public support for protection measures around the world.

With record support, rhino rays and world’s fastest sharks get new trade protections
- Governments from around the world have voted to strictly regulate the international trade in two species of mako sharks, six giant guitarfish species, and 10 species of wedgefish — sharks and rays that have been declining rapidly in recent years.
- All 18 species have now been formally approved for listing on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), which mandates that countries track their exports of the listed sharks and rays, and show that fishing them will not threaten their long-term survival in the wild.
- With majority of the global trade in sharks and rays and their products, especially shark fins and meat, being unregulated, conservation groups and researchers have welcomed this decision.
- The three shark and ray proposals received the highest number of co-sponsors in the history of CITES convention with 61 countries supporting at least one of the three proposals.

Information is key – but lacking for sharks and rays in the Western Indian Ocean (commentary)
- Due to overexploitation, at least 27 percent of the 222 different shark and ray species found in the Western Indian Ocean (WIO) are considered threatened, meaning that they are classified as either Vulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. These species face a high risk of extinction and need urgent conservation intervention.
- Although the majority of sharks and rays pose no threat to humans, we pose a major threat to them, primarily through fisheries. Shark fisheries have existed for many decades, although historically they were primarily caught as unwanted bycatch. However, they are now increasingly being targeted due to the high demand for meat for local consumption and export, and for their fins for the global shark (and ray) fin trade.
- Ensuring that sharks and rays are sustainably managed is important not only because they provide an important source of food and income for many coastal communities, but also because they serve an important function in maintaining balanced and healthy ecosystems through their roles as apex and meso predators, and as food for other, larger marine species. However, information needed to sustainably manage shark and ray populations is sorely lacking in the WIO.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

Thousands of sharks and rays are likely entangled in plastic polluting Earth’s oceans
- Scientists at the UK’s University of Exeter examined existing scientific literature and took to Twitter to find documented instances of shark and ray entanglements.
- They ended up finding reports of more than 1,000 entangled animals — and they say the actual number of sharks and rays snarled in plastic is likely to be far higher, as few studies have focused specifically on the issue.
- “Entanglement in marine debris is symptomatic of a degraded marine environment and is a clear animal welfare issue,” the authors write in the study. But they add that entanglement is “likely a far lesser threat” to shark and ray populations than the threat posed by commercial fishing.

What happens to an ecotourism town when the wildlife doesn’t show?
- Since the mid-1990s, the town of Donsol in the Philippines has based its economy around tourists viewing whale sharks.
- Whale sharks are migratory fish. And while they showed up in reliable numbers during the first decade of Donsol’s venture into shark tourism, their numbers have become highly unpredictable in the past decade for reasons still unknown.
- Tourism has declined as well, with 2018 registering the fewest visitor arrivals since whale shark tourism started. The local economy, which it had buoyed, is now flagging, although 2019 seems off to a strong start for both whale sharks and tourists.
- Wildlife tourism, by nature, is susceptible to biodiversity loss and changes in animal behavior; it places host communities on a thin line between profit and loss.

Recreational divers help researchers track movements of rare stingray
- The smalleye stingray, thought to be widely distributed across the Indo-West Pacific, is rarely seen and is listed as “data deficient” on the IUCN Red List.
- By compiling photographs and videos of the stingrays taken opportunistically by both research teams and recreational divers over the last 15 years off the coast of Mozambique, the only place the giant rays are regularly spotted, researchers have created a photographic database of the animals.
- This database is now helping researchers gain some of the first insights into this elusive species. For example, researchers found that a female stingray had made a 400-kilometer (250-mile) round trip to birth her pups.

Caribbean nations boost protection for extremely rare largetooth sawfish
- On June 5, Caribbean countries agreed to boost protection for the largetooth sawfish by adding it to Annex II of the Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife (SPAW) Protocol under the Cartagena Convention.
- Plants and animals added to Annexes I and II of the SPAW Protocol are afforded the highest levels of protection, with countries falling within the Caribbean region committing to ban the collection, possession or killing of the species, prohibit their commercial trade, and take steps to reduce disturbances to the species.
- Experts have welcomed the measure, but say that SPAW countries must “follow through with their obligations to implement protections.”
- Legal protection aside, education and local community involvement is key to giving species like sawfish “a fighting chance,” experts say.

Mobile app encourages Indian fishers to free entangled whale sharks
- When whale sharks in waters off the Indian state of Gujarat get trapped in fishing nets, a new mobile app lets fishers easily document their release.
- Conservationists and fishers alike hope the app will speed up the compensation fishers receive for damaged nets.
- However, fishers say the compensation, a maximum of 25,000 rupees ($360), should be increased to reflect the true loss of their revenue during their downtime without nets.

Study maps where tunas, sharks and fishing ships meet
- By analyzing the trails of 933 fishing vessels and more than 800 sharks and tunas in the northeast Pacific, researchers have identified regions where the two tend to overlap in a new study.
- While the ships could be traced back to 12 countries, most that operated within the high seas part of the study region belonged to just five countries: Taiwan, China, Japan, Mexico and the United States.
- The study found that 4 to 35 percent of all the species’ core habitats overlapped with commercial fishing ships. But where they overlapped differed: for species like the salmon shark, most of the overlap occurred within the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) or domestic waters of the U.S. and Canada, while 87 percent of blue shark overlap with fishing occurred in the high seas
- Such fish-fishing overlap maps would be particularly useful for guiding fisheries management in the high seas, researchers say.

World’s fastest shark, and many others, edge toward extinction
- Seventeen species of sharks and rays have joined the list of those threatened with extinction, according to the latest updates from the Shark Specialist Group (SSG) of the IUCN, which recently assessed the population trends of 58 shark and ray species.
- Among them is the shortfin mako, the world’s fastest known shark, whose threat status has been uplisted from vulnerable to endangered, as well as its cousin, the longfin mako.
- Three shark species — the Argentine angelshark, whitefin swellshark and smoothback angelshark — have been uplisted to critically endangered from lower threat categories.

Hobby-grade drones can monitor marine animals beneath the surface
- Researchers in The Bahamas have been testing just how good drone videos can be for estimating the abundance and distribution of large marine animals found just beneath the ocean’s surface.
- They flew aerial surveys using commercial-grade drones along six tidal creeks facing high and low human impact, to count sharks, rays, and sea turtles — groups that are both threatened and difficult to monitor. The findings from multiple sites suggest that shoreline development negatively affects the abundance and distribution of various marine species.
- The study also showed that using lower-cost consumer drones equipped with video cameras could help researchers effectively and non-invasively estimate abundance of these marine megafauna in shallow waters and compare data across sites.

Argentina creates two new marine parks to protect penguins, sea lions
- Argentina has officially created two large marine protected areas: the Yaganes Marine National Park, lying off the country’s southern tip, and the Namuncurá-Burdwood Bank II Marine National Park in the South Atlantic.
- Together, the two parks cover a total area of about 98,000 square kilometers (37,000 square miles).
- Industrial fishing is both an important source of revenue for Argentina and a threat to the country’s marine life. But the areas destined to become protected areas have had little fishing activity in recent years, which helped move negotiations in favor of the marine parks.

PNG to create 7,500 square kilometers of new marine protected areas in Bismarck Sea
- Papua New Guinea has announced its commitment to creating 7,500 square kilometers of marine protected areas in the Bismarck Sea by 2021.
- The new MPA network will encompass 2,500 square kilometers of coastal areas around Tikana and Lavongai islands including key coral reef systems in the Bismarck Sea, as well as 5,000 square kilometers of offshore areas identified as high priorities for marine conservation in New Ireland Province.
- The PNG government has pledged to triple the coverage of its current MPA network, and this new 7,500-square-kilometer (nearly 2,900-square-mile) commitment will achieve that goal. According to WCS president and CEO Cristián Samper, the new MPAs will also help the country meet its Aichi Target goal of protecting 10 percent of its territorial waters and coastline by the year 2025.

Rare nursery for baby manta rays discovered in Gulf of Mexico
- Adult giant manta rays can be seen in subtropical and tropical waters around the world, but baby and juvenile mantas are rarely encountered.
- So when marine biologist Joshua Stewart saw several baby and juvenile mantas at the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary off Texas and Louisiana, he was surprised.
- By looking through 25 years of dive data from the sanctuary, including photographs of manta rays, Stewart and his team confirmed that the sanctuary was a nursery ground for the mantas.

Fishing gear poses the greatest danger to young great whites off the West Coast of the U.S.
- Fishing lines and nets pose the most significant threat to the survival of young white sharks in the waters off Mexico and southern California, according to a new study.
- A team of scientists used a relatively “untapped” but ubiquitous storehouse of data to develop a statistical model for the survival rates of juvenile white sharks.
- The researchers calculated that 63 percent of young white sharks living in this part of the Pacific survive annually, but that nearly half probably come in contact with gillnets set by commercial fishers.
- The findings point to best practices, such as barring gillnets from inshore “nurseries” and asking fishers to check their nets for trapped sharks more regularly, that could help protect great whites.

Longest recorded whale shark migration eclipses 20,000 kilometers
- Scientists followed the movements of a whale shark for nearly two and a half years as she swam more than 20,000 kilometers (over 12,000 miles) from the coast of Central America to the Marianas Trench near Asia.
- Whale sharks, whose numbers have dropped by more than half in the past 75 years according to the IUCN, are taken by fishing boats for their fins, cartilage, meat and teeth, and studies have shown that boats bringing tourists to swim with the largest fish in the ocean change the species’ behavior.
- Given these threats, scientists hope studies such as this one will help guide conservation policy aimed at protecting these animals throughout their migrations.

Brazil creates four massive marine protected areas
- The four newly designated marine protected areas (MPAs) will cover an area of more than 920,000 square kilometers (355,200 square miles) in the Atlantic Ocean.
- Two of the MPAs will cover waters around the archipelago of Trindade, Martin Vaz and Mount Columbia, located more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) east of the Brazilian mainland.
- The remaining two MPAs will be located around the São Pedro and São Paulo archipelagos, some 900 kilometers (560 miles) off the northeast coast.
- However, some marine biologists worry that these large, remote MPAs may do little to safeguard biodiversity.

Study reveals the Pacific Garbage Patch is much heftier than thought — and it’s growing
- A recent survey of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch revealed that the aggregated plastic there weighs in at 79,000 metric tons (87,100 short tons).
- The plastic is floating across an area larger than Mongolia at 1.6 million square kilometers (618,000 square miles).
- Around 75 percent of the pieces that are larger than 5 centimeters (2 inches) in length, and old fishing nets make up a minimum of 46 percent of the total mass.
- The scientists calculated that 94 percent of the 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic in the patch are microplastics.

Microplastic pollution in world’s oceans poses major threat to filter-feeding megafauna
- A study published in the journal Trends in Ecology & Evolution last month looks at how filter-feeding marine animals like baleen whales, manta rays, and whale sharks are impacted by microplastic pollution in the world’s oceans.
- Filter-feeding megafauna must swallow hundreds to thousands of cubic meters of water every day in order to catch enough plankton to keep themselves nourished. That means that these species are probably ingesting microplastics both directly from polluted water and indirectly through the consumption of contaminated plankton prey.
- Microplastic particles can block nutrient absorption and damage the digestive tracts of the filter-feeding marine life that ingest them, while toxins and persistent organic pollutants (POPs) found in plastic can accumulate in the bodies of marine wildlife over time, changing biological processes such as growth and reproduction and even leading to decreased fertility.

Do catch and release-induced abortions harm shark and ray populations?
- Female sharks and rays are more susceptible to aborting their young after being captured than previously realized, according to a recent review of scientific literature.
- The review found that 88 species that bear live young were susceptible. Among a subset of those species for which adequate data was available, researchers estimated that an average of 24 percent of pregnant females abort their offspring when captured.
- The authors argue that the phenomenon may be responsible for lost generations of threatened species.
- However, outside researchers consulted for this story say that the killing of adult sharks poses a much bigger threat to species survival.

Belize imposes offshore oil moratorium to protect reefs
- Belize stopped the exploration for oil in its waters as of Dec. 29, 2017.
- Environmentalists and local businesses opposed a 2016 plan to begin wider oil exploration around Belize, halting those plans within weeks.
- Tourism directly contributed about 14 percent of the country’s gross domestic product in 2016, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council, and 50 percent of Belize’s 360,000 people depend on tourism or fishing for their livelihoods.
- Conversely, WWF estimated that an oil spill would cost $280 million in cleanup costs.

‘SALT’ alliance aims to tackle illegal fishing on a global scale
- The Seafood Alliance for Legality and Traceability (SALT) alliance announced today at the Our Ocean conference in Malta aims to bring together representatives from seafood companies and seafood-producing and -consuming countries to decrease illegality in the fishing sector.
- Scientists reported that between 11 million and 26 million metric tons (12.1 million and 28.7 million tons) of the worldwide catch is illegal or unreported, costing as much as $23.5 billion a year.
- A year-long process headed by the NGO FishWise that will seek input from a variety of stakeholders begins this month.

Trade in silky and thresher sharks now to be strictly regulated
- All three species of thresher sharks and the silky shark were included under Appendix II of CITES in 2016.
- Countries were granted a one-year grace period “put the necessary regulations and processes into place”. The trade restrictions came into force yesterday.
- However, merely listing the species under CITES will not protect the sharks, some conservationists warn.

DNA barcoding helps identify endangered species from market specimens of sharks and rays
- Researchers using DNA barcoding technology found that over 70% of shark fins and ray gill plates, collected from sellers in multiple countries, came from threatened species.
- They determined the species of 129 dried commercial fin and gill samples, which are otherwise difficult to identify, by comparing genetic material in the samples with samples in two reference databases.
- The study’s findings support the use of DNA barcoding as a tool to help enforcement agencies determine whether processed specimens derive from legal or illegal species.
- Their identification of at least 20 shark and 5 ray species, 12 of which are under trade restrictions, suggests that current global shark and ray fishing is unsustainable and merits a strong conservation response.

Singapore is world’s second largest shark-fin trader: TRAFFIC
- In 2012-2013, Singapore exported $40 million worth of shark fins, closely following Hong Kong’s $45 million, and imported $51.4 million worth of fins, following Hong Kong’s $170 million.
- More than 72 percent of Singapore’s shark fin exports went to Hong Kong, mainland China and Japan in 2012-13.
- Spain, Namibia and Uruguay were the top three sources of shark fins during this period, accounting for more than 66 percent of Singapore’s imports.

Over 50% of sharks and rays in the Mediterranean Sea are at risk of extinction
- Nearly 40 of the 73 species of sharks and rays assessed are threatened, with 31 of them evaluated as Critically Endangered and Endangered.
- The conservation status of the sharks and rays in the Mediterranean Sea show no sign of improvement, experts warn.
- This rapid decline in the number of shark and ray species in the Mediterranean waters is mainly due to overfishing, with most species being taken as bycatch, according to the report.

Leonardo DiCaprio launches global campaign to protect sharks and rays
- The Global Partnership for Sharks and Rays (GPSR) is collaborative effort supported by the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, and Oceans 5.
- The campaign aims to “halt the global overexploitation of sharks and rays, prevent species extinction, and restore shark and ray populations worldwide.”
- The GPSR fund will target coastal fishing countries that have some of the largest direct and incidental take of sharks and rays, have a significant domestic demand, and high biodiversity; as well as countries that have outsized demand for shark and ray products.

400-year-old Greenland shark might be oldest vertebrate on Earth
- By carbon dating the eyes of Greenland sharks, researchers estimate that the oldest of the sharks was 392 years old when it was caught four years ago.
- Given a wide margin of error of 120 years, the study estimates that the sharks likely have lifespans of 272 to 512 years.
- The previously known longest living vertebrate — the bowhead whale — can live for around 211 years, which is still less than the lower estimate of a Greenland shark’s lifespan.

Whale sharks inch closer to extinction
- Whale shark numbers have plummeted by more than 50 percent in the last 75 years.
- Threats to the whale shark include habitat destruction, accidental entanglement in fishing nets, vessel collisions, and hunting for their meat, fins and oil.
- Numbers of the winghead shark have also declined by at least 50 percent in the last 40 years, mostly due to unregulated fishing.

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