A global approach to shark and ray conservation

Show Notes

Sharks and ray populations across the world are in freefall. Reversing these declines requires a coordinated, global effort – but how can this be achieved? At the International Marine Protected Areas Congress (IMPAC5) in Vancouver, Canada, host Isla sat down with Rima Jabado, fisheries scientist and head of the IUCN Shark Specialist Group, and elasmobranch scientists Emiliano García Rodríguez and Ciaran Hyde to talk about Important Shark and Ray Areas (ISRAs). Led by a growing international team of scientists, policy-makers and practitioners, the ISRAs project aims to put sharks on the map – collating information on areas around the world that serve a vital function for sharks and rays, and making this information freely available to help decision-makers and managers build better, informed protective measures for sharks and rays around the world.

Before diving into all things ISRA, we ask our guests for their most memorable ocean experience (09.52). Ciaran, who has spent her whole life exploring Australia’s coastlines, had a ‘good’ experience (watching the sunrise underwater with eagle rays), but also an experience that was memorable for different reasons…a little too close of an encounter with a hungry wild dolphin! Emiliano’s experience involves a very formative experience from his childhood – seeing his first shark during a trip to his local aquarium in Mexico (11.25). He also remembers seeing the catch of the local fishermen, which was almost made up entirely of sharks. These two experiences led him on a path to studying shark science. And for Rima, any encounter with sharks is something to cherish, especially as these encounters are becoming more of a rarity due to their falling numbers (12.26).

Ensuring better protection for sharks is the main motivation behind the ISRAs project. ISRAs are defined as discrete portions of habitat that are three-dimensional (i.e. they also factor in depth) and important for one or more shark, ray or chimaera species, which means that they could possibly be delineated for conservation (13.58). Rima tells us that the ISRAs process was inspired by similar spatial planning tools, like Important Marine Mammal Areas (IMMAs) and Important Bird Areas (IBAs) (16.40). The idea sparked from a conversation with one of the lead scientists working on IMMAs, Dr Giuseppe Notarbartolo di Sciara. It grew rapidly from there – apparently, there was a great deal of interest in shark conservation from notable funders, NGOs, practitioners, governments and other scientists who wished to see better protection for sharks and their relatives across the globe. Having such important areas for species overlaid on a map allows us to see where they overlap and where there are hotspots for biodiversity that need conserving.

However, it’s important to note that an ISRA is not a Marine Protected Area (MPA) (19.00). Ciaran explains that they were designed primarily to focus on the needs and requirements of sharks – i.e. why they are there, why the area is important for them – and aim to make that information freely available so that the people who make the decisions can use that information to designate a new MPA or similar protective measure. This knowledge exists for some species, but certainly not for all, and not all in one place accessible to planners, managers and practitioners (20.39). This is what the ISRAs project aims to do – to gather together all the available evidence and identify areas that need protection. This process will also help to pinpoint major gaps in our knowledge base.

So how will ISRAs be identified? The whole process consists of four key stages, which Rima describes (22.12). Part of the initial stages of the project was dividing the global ocean into 13 distinct regions, mainly based on the biogeography of species and the fisheries regions delineated by the United Nations (24.33). The ISRAs team will then plan a workshop in that region, but first, they call experts in the region to contribute their knowledge to the process. At this stage, experts can propose potential areas to be discussed at the workshop (which are called “Areas of Interest (AOI)”). At the workshop, the experts and the ISRA team gather to review all the available evidence to review whether any of the proposed areas meet the ISRA criteria (which we’ll come to a little later on!). Once consensus has been reached, they then work to create finalised proposals that will go to an independent review panel, which will thoroughly look through each one to ensure the information is robust. The review panel will decide whether a candidate ISRA meets the criteria to become one officially or whether more information is needed. Finally, all the approved ISRAs are mapped, and that information is made freely available on the e-Atlas, which can be found on the ISRAs website.

Although scientific evidence will form a large part of the knowledge base used to identify ISRAs, an important part of the process is also including local and traditional knowledge (25.47). The first workshop – which was held in the South and Central Pacific region – was attended by many people who were not scientists but did have valuable insight into critical sites for sharks and rays, like fishermen, divers and tourism operators. As Emiliano states, the ISRAs team are interested in reviewing all available evidence, not just the scientific literature. This is especially important in countries where there is very little published, but there are still many people who work in and on the ocean in their everyday lives (27.40).

An area can become an ISRA if it meets certain criteria, which were decided by an expert-driven process led by Ciaran. She explains that there are four overarching criteria for identifying an ISRA (31.02). Criterion A relates to ‘vulnerability’; in essence, the conservation status of that species or population (are they endangered, and if so, to what extent?). Criterion B asks if the species is ‘range-restricted’, not just geographically but also with respect to depth. Criterion C is ‘life history’ and looks at if this is an area where vital functions are occurring that are critical to the life cycle of a species, such as areas where they can reproduce, feed, or find shelter. And lastly, ‘special attributes’ detail any distinctive behaviours or unique traits within a population that differs from other populations within that species. A recent example of this is an area where the Chilean eagle ray feeds – they are typically a bottom-feeding species, but this specific population are pelagic feeders, preying on fish in the water column closer to the surface (33.57). An ISRA doesn’t have to meet all these criteria; meeting just one can be sufficient. However, there is an exception. Criterion A (‘vulnerability’) by itself is not sufficient – it must come in conjunction with another criterion for the area to be established as an ISRA (34.49).

The ISRAs project may be ambitious, but it is moving along fast thanks to the hard work and determination of the ISRAs team. In October 2022, they held their first workshop in Colombia for the South and Central Pacific region (37.44). The consensus of the experts participating in the workshop was the identification of an astounding 74 candidate ISRAs, and five Areas of Interest. The independent review panel then approved 40 ISRAs, with 11 other areas needing more information. If this evidence is secured in the future, then they will also be mapped as ISRAs. The next workshop will be in the Mediterranean.

The next few years will be full steam ahead. As more countries commit to 30×30 – the agreement set out by the United Nations to protect 30% of land and sea by 2030 – Rima and the ISRAs team want to make sure that governments have all the information they need to consider sharks in their protected area designations (40.40). For the first time, the plight of sharks and rays is being recognised on a global scale – and the ISRAs team, along with the IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group and countless other experts around the world, are fighting to make sure the moment is not wasted. 

About our Guests

Dr Rima Jabado

Rima is a scientist and conservationist that has spent over 20 years developing and working on conservation initiatives globally. She has extensive experience as a field researcher, director for non-profit organizations, government official, and project manager. Her work on fisheries has focused on bridging the gap between science and policy to ensure issues such as bycatch and threatened species conservation are tackled. Her research has been instrumental in influencing decision makers to implement meaningful measures for the protection of species across a range of fisheries. She has authored/co-authored over 70 scientific, technical, and popular publications, lectured at schools and universities, and appeared in radio and television productions. She is a member of the IUCN Marine Conservation Committee (since 2019), is the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) Appointed Scientific Councillor for Fish (since 2020) and sits on the Advisory Committee for the CMS Sharks Memorandum of Understanding as a representative of the Asia region (since 2016). Rima has received various grants and awards in support and recognition of her work on sharks and rays as well as a Pew Fellowship in Marine Conservation. In 2021, she was also appointed as the Chair of the IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group.

Ciaran Hyde

Ciaran is a marine and elasmobranch ecologist whose primary interest is in furthering conservation of sharks and rays. Her PhD focused on management approaches to rays and stingrays to determine the effectiveness of current methods in protecting species, and how to approach future elasmobranch management to support increased research and conservation to this highly threatened group. Ciaran has previously worked with large sharks, determining urban impacts to species through stable isotope analysis, as well as migration and movement patterns through acoustic tagging of great white, tiger, and bull sharks along the Australian east coast. She has additionally worked as a consultant to the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) in Fiji, conducting baseline coral reef surveys and capacity building workshops to support regional communities in establishing locally managed marine areas (LMMAs), and in eco-tourism, spending many days out on the water watching whales and feeding wild dolphins as a Marine Eco-Ranger at Tangalooma Wild Dolphin Resort. Prior to her career in science, Ciaran attained qualifications in journalism and communications, which has translated into a passion for community engagement and science communication, in particular to increase the awareness of shark and ray declines beyond scientific communities. Ciaran lives on the Gold Coast, Australia, and spends her free time in the ocean, surfing and diving.

Dr Emiliano Garcia Rodrigueze

Emiliano is a Mexican marine ecologist focused on the conservation and sustainable management of chondrichthyans. He grew up in southeast Mexico, and since he was a child, he developed a fascination for sharks and rays landed by local fishers. This interest made him pursue a degree in Marine Biology. During his doctorate, he focused on understanding how juvenile white sharks were using a nursery area in the Northwest Pacific, using acoustic telemetry, chemical tracers, and local traditional knowledge from fishing communities. For the past thirteen years, he has been involved in interdisciplinary groups working for the management and conservation of sharks, especially in data-poor areas. His research has led him to work with government agencies, academics, fishers, tourist service providers, and non-governmental organizations to manage these species properly. He has worked closely with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) National Authorities in Mexico and marine protected areas authorities to improve existing regulations in Mexico.