Mohsen Rezaie-Atagholipour
Who I am
I grew up in north-eastern Iran with a deep love for nature and animals, but far from the ocean. Therefore, unsurprisingly, I immensely enjoyed the thrill of looking at books about marine life, which seemed to be made up of alien creatures from science fiction. One of my most cherished possessions from childhood is an illustrated book called Fishes. I spent countless hours gazing at its pages, marvelling at the strange fish it depicted: torpedo rays that deliver electric shocks, whale sharks larger than school buses, mudskippers that walk on land, and flying fish. I tried to imagine their real-life counterparts, much like children do with dinosaurs. Unlike dinosaurs, however, I knew I would one day see these marine creatures in the flesh.
At 18, I left home and travelled 1,400 kilometres (870 miles) to the southern Iranian coast to live my dream of becoming a marine biologist. I studied for Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in marine biology, and my early research focused on marine reptiles, including sea snakes and turtles. While working on a trawl fishing boat looking for snakes taken as bycatch for my Master’s thesis, I saw many of my favourite creatures, especially sharks and rays, dead in fishing nets. This experience shifted my focus. Consequently, while nothing compares to seeing marine life alive when diving or on beach walks, much of my field work now involves working with fishermen at landing sites and on fishing boats.
I began as an independent scientist and since 2018 I have led QECI, Iran’s first marine biodiversity-focused NGO. I am now a PhD student in environmental biology at the University of Manchester in the UK. Dealing with lifeless shark and ray bodies is heartbreaking. Still, like all shark conservationists, I strive to contribute, even in small ways, to halting the decline of these fascinating yet threatened fish.
Where I work
For the past decade my research has focused on the 1,800-kilometre (1,120-mile) southern Iranian coast of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, areas with high rates of shark and ray fishing and limited data on these species. By studying sharks and rays and their fisheries in this region, we aim to bridge knowledge gaps and understand how overfishing may impact sharks and rays in future climate-altered tropical seas.
The Persian Gulf, the world’s hottest sea, where summer temperatures exceed 37° Celsius, presents a unique environment where marine species, including sharks and rays, have adapted over millennia. Despite being less diverse than other tropical seas, the Gulf’s Iranian coastal waters boast varied marine habitats such as reefs, islands, mangroves, sea-grass beds and salt marshes that are nourished by run-off from the Iranian highlands.
As I pass through the Strait of Hormuz and continue my journey along the Iranian coastline from the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman, a sea with a typical present-day tropical Indian Ocean climate, I see populations of many species that are also present in the Persian Gulf. In other words, along the southern Iranian coastline, I can study a stingray population in a present-day climate in the Gulf of Oman and, a few hours later, reach a population of the same species that has adapted to a climate-changed environment of the Persian Gulf for thousands of years.
Interestingly, akin to a lens into the future, such within-species comparisons along the unique southern Iranian coastline will reveal how human-induced stressors, such as overfishing, will impact threatened marine life in tomorrow’s climate-changed tropical seas.
What I do
I conduct research to understand the impacts of fisheries on threatened marine wildlife, particularly sharks and rays, along the extremely data-poor southern Iranian coastline. While working in the field, it is difficult to distinguish me from the fishermen. Whenever I board a fishing boat, I begin working alongside the fishers. I have extensive knowledge of fish and experience working on fishing boats, which enables me to assist them in sorting and storing their catch. This collaboration helps to break the ice and foster friendships. Working with fishers becomes a fascinating experience when you are accepted as a valued community member. This has allowed my team and me to interview hundreds of fishermen from numerous small and large coastal towns and villages across the entire Iranian coastline, creating an invaluable database on the impacts of fishing on threatened marine life, including sharks and rays, and their socio-economic drivers.
However, while I work with fishers and talk with them about their fishing experiences, I carry out another daily field-work routine related to this Save Our Seas Foundation project. I examine caught sharks and rays at landing sites and on fishing boats. I measure their size and weight, and establish their gender and maturity. Sometimes I collect specimens that are destined to be discarded and bring them to the lab for further examination, including analysis of stomach contents, fecundity and other details. I also conduct molecular research to understand genetic variety and gene expression in different areas. All these measurements help describe the animal’s life history and the factors influencing it. However, my primary focus is to study these characteristics in relation to fishing pressure and climatic data, which will reveal the combined effects of fishing pressure and climate change on these threatened fish.