Fowler, Sarah

In the 20 years since the IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group’s first status report (2005), much has changed for sharks, rays and chimaeras. This report updates our understanding, and the scope of information reflects the scale of these two decades of change. The breadth of research topics has expanded, mirroring the inclusion of a greater diversity of species, and attention is being trained on the emerging threats and the accelerating global changes to aquatic ecosystems.

In 2007 the Shark Specialist Group convened an expert workshop with the aim of using the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria to assess the conservation status of pelagic sharks and rays. This report provides a detailed summary of the IUCN Red List assessment for these species, highlighting species of conservation concern as well as identifying species assessed as Least Concern and Data Deficient.

Many shark populations are in serious decline worldwide with little shark fisheries management in place. The IUCN Shark Specialist Group has compiled a Global Status Report for Chondrichthyan Fishes (the Sharks, Rays and Chimaeras), with Red List assessments for over 100 species and regional reports on the status of shark fisheries, together with information on taxonomy; life history; trade; socio-economics; threats; and conservation and management initiatives.

Sharks and their relatives, the rays and chimaeras, are the diverse group of cartilaginous fishes that have evolved over 400 million years. Historically considered of low economic value to large-scale fisheries, today many of these fishes have become the target of directed commercial and recreational fisheries around the world, and they are increasingly taken in the by-catch of fisheries targeting other species.

The Darwin Elasmobranch Biodiversity Conservation and Management project in Sabah held a three-day international seminar that included a one-day workshop in order to highlight freshwater and coastal elasmobranch conservation issues in the region and worldwide, to disseminate the result of the project to other Malaysian states and countries, and to raise awareness of the importance of considering aspects of elasmobranch biodiversity in the context of nature conservation, commercial fisheries m

Sharks and their relatives, the rays and chimaeras, are the diverse group of cartilaginous fishes that have evolved over 400 million years. Historically considered of low economic value to large-scale fisheries, today many of these fishes have become the target of directed commercial and recreational fisheries around the world, and they are increasingly taken in the by-catch of fisheries targeting other species.