IUCN Global Status Report on Sharks, Rays and Chimerae published

A few days ago, the IUCN Shark Specialist Group's (SSG) new status report 'The global status of sharks, rays and chimaeras' was published - a good twenty years after the first report warned that sharks, rays and chimaeras were under threat, but that not enough was being done to protect them. We now know more about this group of fish, but the global decline is still alarming.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), formerly known as the World Conservation Union , aims to promote awareness among human societies of the need to conserve nature and protect species, and to ensure the sustainable and responsible use of natural resources.

In the current report, more than 300 participating scientists have compiled comprehensive information on the biology, fisheries, trade, conservation measures and policy reforms for this group of fishes - covering 158 countries.

Intensive fishing has threatened many species of cartilaginous fish with extinction. 'But there is hope. We have the information we need and the commitment of so many people has brought us to a historic point where we can move towards sustainability,' said Dr Rima Jabado, Chair of the Shark Specialist Group.

Our Colleague Dr. Matthias Schaber worked on the report with colleagues from the IUCN SSG Northern Europe group. As a co-author, he was actively involved in writing the chapter on the situation in Germany.

The rather extensive report can be found here: "The global status of sharks, rays and chimaeras" Status-Report 

(Source: IUCN (2024). The global status of sharks, rays and chimaeras:  https://doi.org/10.59216/ssg.gsrsrc.2024)

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