Ocean Sentry
Using information from two global datasets collected by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and FishBase, the Australian team behind the study has compiled the most comprehensive database yet of information about sharks, rays and chimaeras (a deep-water fish which also has cartilage instead of bones) and the factors that put them at risk of becoming threatened.
Fishing, coastal development and habitat degradation, climate change and pollution have all been identified in the study as the major risk factors for global extinction.
“We concluded that the largest, most range-restricted and heavily harvested species could easily become threatened,” said lead researcher on the project, Dr Iain Field. “Globally, poor management of coastal and high-seas fisheries is one of the greatest threats to shark, ray and chimaera populations. Habitat loss and degradation will further erode certain populations to the point where extinction risk rises appreciably, and there are likely to be threat synergies with climate change.”
“These are large predators that have top-down control of other marine species – their survival and abundance is vital to the health of the entire system. So far there have been no extinctions of sharks, rays and chimaeras, but now is the time to act so that we may conserve and manage these species as a legacy for future generations.”
