Press Room

Aldabra Atoll has officially been designated as an Important Shark and Ray Area (ISRA) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Species Survival Commission shark specialist group

«​Significant progress was made towards conserving sharks and rays at the recently concluded 14th Conference of the Parties of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS). A wide range of issues related to sharks and rays were discussed, including ecological connectivity, bycatch, and deep sea mineral exploitation activities. Major conservation success stories include listing several new species of sharks and rays on the CMS Appendices, adopting a Single Species Action Plan for Angelshark, encouraging the use of Important Shark and Ray Areas in marine spatial planning, supporting Concerted Actions for priority species, and taking action to ensure effective implementation of CMS requirements for the threatened Oceanic Whitetip Shark.»

The IUCN Species Survival Commission Shark Specialist Group (SSG) has released a compendium of Important Shark and Ray Area from the Mediterranean and Black Seas

«Overall, delineating Important Shark and Ray Areas globally will transform shark conservation and contribute to reducing mortality in this highly threatened group.»

​​«Initiatives have been developed for specific taxa, such as birds (Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas) and marine mammals (Important Marine Mammal Areas) and for biodiversity more generally (Key Biodiversity Areas and Ecological or Biologically Significant Marine Areas). These approaches are now well accepted and utilized in spatial and conservation planning. Until recently, such an approach had yet to focus on sharks and their relatives, the rays and chimaeras (hereafter collectively referred to as sharks), one of the most threatened faunal lineages (37% of species are categorized as threatened with extinction on the IUCN Red List).»

The Shark and Ray Recovery Initiative (SARRI) and Important Shark and Ray Areas (ISRAs) are two different projects with strong synergy and opportunities to achieve more. As a result of the partnership between leading conservationists and scientists – including members of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the Elasmo Project, James Cook University (JCU), and Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) – SAARI aims to recover 23 Endangered and Critically Endangered species in some of their last hotspots by introducing ‘shark recovery zones’ in the next decade.