What’s Happening to the World’s Sharks and Rays?
SHOW NOTES
Isla caught up with Rima and Alexandra while at the International Marine Conservation Congress (IMCC) in Cape Town, South Africa, and they begin the podcast by discussing their experiences of the congress [6.50]. They all agree that it has been intense, but very rewarding. With delegates from over 72 countries and territories, from all different backgrounds, interests and expertise, the congress presented a wide range of topics and groups to learn from. Rima particularly loved how much sharks and rays were represented at this IMCC. She remembers attending an IMCC in 2009, and seeing just 6 presentations related to sharks – whereas in Cape Town over 70 shark-focussed people joined her on stage for a group photo, many of whom delivered talks throughout the congress. A very special part of this was seeing how much Important Shark and Ray Areas (ISRAs), an initiative led by the IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group, is being used as a tool to inform policy.
Alexandra’s highlight of the congress was the integration of human dimensions with the natural sciences [10.12]. “I feel like, as scientists we get stuck in our own niches, so it’s nice to see us go beyond that and receive advice from people who have worked outside our field.” She enjoyed meeting so many new people from varied fields and backgrounds, and felt excited at all the collaboration that had taken place over the last five days.
The conversation then moved on to the new IUCN SSC SSG report, and why it was written in the first place [14.20]. Rima recalls the first status report as being an essential reference point for her when she first entered the world of sharks: “it told us what the knowns were, what the unknowns were, and where our priorities should be.” When she became chair of the SSG in 2020, Rima found herself needing to answer the same questions – what was the current state of sharks and rays, and what should be the focus areas going into the next decades? And so she and her team embarked on a mammoth task to compile a second, more up-to-date report.
A lot has changed over the last 20 years. Firstly, the sheer amount of knowledge. Country-by-country accounts have grown in number and data, reflected in the size of the report (400 words in the 2005 report, vs 2000 words in the current one). In the first document, there was a lot of information provided, but many countries and territories were also data deficient. Now those countries and territories have contributed information to the new report, to fill those crucial gaps. And there are new people coming into the field all the time – shark research and conservation has really expanded over the last two decades. And it is very much welcomed. “We need it.” Says Rima. “There are over 1,200 species, so we need all that expertise. The sharks need it, the rays need it, the chimaeras need it”
Alex found out about the report when she was completing her undergraduate degree [17.40]. She was then brought on to the team to help them tackle this large-scale report. It is now a ‘one stop shop’ for anyone wanting to know about sharks, rays and chimaeras, consolidating information from 353 contributors. For Alexandra, it has been an eye-opening and fascinating experience. “As the project grew, I got to grow with it.” She says. “It was almost like a crash course – everything you need to know about sharks, rays and chimaeras in the world, in one place. Which I think makes it super convenient for people, even outside of the shark science world.” With the latter in mind, they aimed to make the report as accessible as possible, limiting jargon and providing summaries throughout.
Pulling this together has been no small feat, and Alexandra is the one who has been coordinating the input of all 353 contributors to make something cohesive – a job that has taken almost two years! It started with the 2022 Sharks International, another global conference, where Alexandra and Rima held a writing retreat for almost 50 contributors. Since then it has been a real team effort, including from a dedicated team of editors. The IUCN SSC SSG has also been working with the Save Our Seas Foundation to produce accessible summaries and infographics to go alongside the report [23.20]. “As proud as we are of having a 2,000 page report, we understand it might be a bit daunting for most people to read!” Says Alexandra. “Our aim was to make it more digestible, and reach as wide an audience as possible.”
And it’s vital that they do. The report itself paints a dire global picture for sharks and rays [25.10]. “Even in the chapters where I thought there was going to be more positive news, there were concerns from the authors about the changing nature of things.” Says Rima. For example in polar waters, which have a reputation as relatively untouched wildernesses, there was information about how climate change is beginning to impact these areas, and the species who rely on them. “And these are areas where we still don’t know all that much.” Rima adds. But, unequivocally, the biggest threat to sharks, rays and chimaeras across the globe is overfishing. In some areas – like the United States, Australia and Canada, there has been progress in terms of sustainable fisheries management. But even in those regions, there were still very clear research gaps. And as for the rest of the world? There is a lot of doom and gloom, and a lot of repetition in terms of how fisheries are impacting the different species.
Generally across each section, they can say for the majority of the time that species are in decline [27.50]. “It’s great that we have more information than we did in the past, and we now know more than we have ever in history, but that information isn’t the nicest of stories.” Says Alex. And these declines are drastic. Part of the problem is that sharks, rays and chimaeras tend to be slow to reproduce and grow, making them particularly vulnerable to overfishing. “The road to recovery is very long.” Alexandra stresses. “We really need action to be done now.”
The report goes into detail on the threat of overfishing, with sections on different gear types, fishing fleets and how species respond to and interact with these fisheries [29.48]. That allows us to understand what are those threats in those countries based on the fisheries that operate within those waters” Explains Rima. In some cases, this data has been provided by governments who have shared their national statistics, providing information that isn’t available in academic circles alone. And, while climate change is an emerging issue, it is not the most immediate threat to the vast majority of species. One of the most shocking outcomes of the report is the long-lasting effects of overfishing on shark populations, which means that, if things don’t change, many species will be lost before climate change has an effect. This is why concentrating on fisheries, and pushing governments to take action to make fisheries more sustainable, is so important. “It’s easy for governments to say they’re going to take action to reduce climate impacts, but who cares if they’re not dealing with fisheries? We know how urgent fisheries management is.” Rima says.
Another problem with overfishing is that the international shark trade is dynamic and diverse [33.18]. Previously, much attention has been placed on the practice of finning, which is a huge threat. But there is also a substantial (and growing) trade in shark meat. Shark meat is not only consumed on a local level, but also traded internationally. Many countries import shark meat from elsewhere to use in their restaurants, and in some regions it is becoming an gourmet delicacy. And there are many more uses for sharks and rays including their liver oil, skin, gill plates and cartilage. A further problem is that sharks and rays are not only targeted directly, but also caught regularly as bycatch – in fact, incidental catches have a significant impact worldwide. And this is of the activities we know about. There is still a substantial amount of Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing that occurs globally, especially in the high seas where policing and enforcement is more difficult.
Additionally, there are still species that we don’t know anything about about [35.50]. We are discovering new species all the time, and this begs the question: how many have gone extinct or are going extinct without us knowing? A lot of new deep-water species are being discovered because fisheries are expanding into deeper waters. Although this means we are gathering new information, it is also deeply concerning. Deep water species are often even slower to reproduce and mature than other sharks, and will not be able to sustain the type of fishing pressure we see for coastal species.
So, the global picture looks very depressing – but what can we do about it [40.10]? The report also contains sections on solutions and paths forward, and for Rima the first positive is that so many people care. “There are so many people now working on sharks, and there are so many advocates for shark conservation around the world.” We are also getting better at working across sectors; scientists working with government, NGOs and the public. This is crucial to making progress.
Additionally, more effective fisheries management is key [41.42]. And half the work has been done. “We know what to do, we just need to do it.” Rima emphasises. There are good examples of sustainable fisheries management – such as in Australia, North America and Canada – that we can draw on, but it requires political willingness and resources to implement and enforce new measures. Alongside fisheries, sharks and rays can also be conserved through spatial measures, by protecting critical habitats like nursery, breeding and feeding grounds. The IUCN SSC SSG has already done a lot of ground work in this direction, through the introduction and progress of the ISRAs initiative. They aim to compile all the information needed to identify these important sites, making it easier for governments and managers to designate spatial measures, like MPAs, around them.
And, we still need more data [45.00]! Specifically, we need more science for conservation. The report demonstrates how far we have come in filling in the gaps in our knowledge, but that doesn’t mean we know it all – far from it in fact. We are still lacking key life history information for many species, and we also require data on their movements and habitat use to be able to understand fully how they are interacting with certain threats.
But why does this all matter? Why should we care about sharks, rays and chimaeras [46.40]. Aside from being amazing animals, they also play vital roles in our ocean ecosystems, as Alex explains: “Many are keystone species. They are at different levels of the food chain, and as top predators they control other populations. They balance the ecosystem.” As the report also references, they have huge socio-economic and cultural value as well. And, they have existed on this planet for far longer than we have, and there is no doubt that their disappearance will be by our own hands. We therefore have a responsibility to ensure we don’t lose them forever. “For me, extinction is something that’s very serious.” Says Rima. “But a lot of people don’t see it as a problem, they think ‘so what’?…and I struggle with this a lot, how to make them understand that this is something they will never see again, that will have existed, survived for millions of years. Something that has played such an important role – whether we know what that role is or not – it has helped this world function.”
You can read Sharks, Rays and Chimaeras: The Status of Chondrichthyan Fishes here: https://www.iucnssg.org/publications-status-reports.html
And find out more about the ISRAs project here: www.sharkrayareas.org
You can also follow the IUCN Shark Specialist Group on Instagram: @iucnshark
ABOUT OUR GUESTS
Dr Rima Jabado
Chair, IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group
Dr Rima Jabado is the Deputy Chair of the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) and Chair of the IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group. As a scientist and conservationist, she has spent over 20 years developing and working on conservation initiatives globally. Her work focuses on bridging the gap between science and policy to ensure issues such as bycatch, threatened species conservation, and illegal trade 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 is now leading the Important Shark and Ray Areas (ISRA) project to ensure sharks, rays, and chimaeras are considered in area-based management initiatives around the world. She is a member of the IUCN Marine Conservation Committee, serves as the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) Appointed Scientific Councilor for Fish, and sits on the Advisory Committee for the CMS Sharks Memorandum of Understanding as the representative of the Asia region. She has also founded the Elasmo Project, a non-profit initiative that encourages and supports work in data-poor areas focused on investigating shark and ray fisheries and trade.
X/Twitter: @ElasmoProject
Alexandra Morata
Program Officer, IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group
Alexandra is an undergraduate at the American University of Sharjah and expected to graduate in 2022 with a Bachelor’s of Science in Biology and a minor in Environmental Science. While her career in marine biology has just started, she is no stranger to those waters; she has had a long passion for sharks, which began during her secondary years after attending a guest lecture on the role of sharks in the marine environment and the importance of their conservation. From then on, she has dived deeper and deeper into the field of marine biology; she has had experience as an intern with WWF – Emirates Nature in the UAE dealing with the conservation of sharks, rays, and other marine megafauna; swimming with whale sharks; and whenever she can, tries to present the relevance of conservation to her peers, and take relevant courses on it. But her interests also extend to other regional biodiversity topics, particularly in her home the Philippines and the United Arab Emirates.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandra-morata-1b7634177/
