@iucnshark
The IUCN SSC Shark Specialsit Group was established in 1991 to respond to growing awareness and concern of the severe impact of fisheries on shark, ray, and chimaera populations around the world.
Follow along for more updates on the region!
We would like to thank the Shark Conservation Fund and the
Paul M. Angell Family Foundation for supporting this workshop.
#shark #ray #chimaera #ISRA #workshop
Thanks to everyone's work, 400+ ISRA proposals were submitted. Over the course of the next five days, contributors online and the 20+ in-person here in Playa del Carmen, Mexico will discuss these submissions in preparation of sending it to an Independent Review Panel.
We welcome you to behind the scenes of Day 1 of the Important Shark and Ray Areas (ISRA) workshop for the North American and Caribbean Atlantic and North America Pacific!
#WorldWildlifeDay #WWD2026 @undp.org
As we celebrate the importance of medicinal and aromatic plants, we must also recognise that conserving sharks, rays and chimaeras is essential to protecting cultural traditions, sustaining ocean ecosystems, and ensuring that wildlife is valued alive and thriving in our oceans for future generations
While the teeth, liver oil, tail, etc. of rays have also been recorded as treatments for burns, asthma, tooth pain, and more.
In Brazil the cartilage of several shark species (e.g., Blacktip shark, Carcharhinus limbatus) are reportedly used in traditional medicine to treat a variety of ails, from rheumatism to asthma to osteoporosis.
This year's theme is Medicinal and Aromatic Plants: Conserving Health, Heritage and Livelihoods.
While the theme is on plants this year, sharks and rays too are valued in old traditions as medicines.
Happy World Wildlife Day (WWD) from the IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group! The United Nations WWD is a day to celebrate wild animals and plants and recognize the unique roles and contributions of wildlife to people and the planet.
#WorldSeagrassDay #shark #ray #conservation #seagrass
As habitats decline, so does the quality of the area for sharks, rays, and other marine fauna alike.
Today is a reminder of the value of seasgrasses to our oceans, as well as the importance of conserving these habitats to protect our oceans and its inhabitants.
When foraging for food, several ray species create 'ray pits' in seagrass meadows and the surrounding areas. This also further contributes to the cycling of nutrients.
Seagrasses are being degraded rapidly by coastal development, pollution, and climate change.
Seagrass habitats are the quiet force that supports shallow waters globally.
Bonnethead Sharks (Sphyrna tiburo) are one of the many shark species known to inhabit seagrass meadows. While many visit the meadows for food in the area, this species has been observed eating the seagrass itself!
Happy World Seagrass Day from the IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group!
Seagrass meadows provides food and shelter to marine fauna; it improves water quality by filtering, cycling, and storing nutrients and pollutants; and act as carbon sinks.
Today’s featured Important Shark and Ray Area (ISRA) is the Port Phillip Bay in Victoria, Australia!
Learn more about the ISRA project: sharkrayareas.org/isra/faq/
and see the compendium: doi.org/10.59216/ssg...
#shark #ray #chimaera #ISRA #conservation #biodiversity
Today’s featured Important Shark and Ray Area (ISRA) is the Derwent Estuary - D'Entrecasteaux Channel in Tasmania, Australia!
Learn more about the ISRA project: sharkrayareas.org/isra/faq/
and see the compendium: doi.org/10.59216/ssg...
#shark #ray #chimaera #ISRA #conservation #biodiversity
If there are any proposals to share with the ISRA team before the workshop, this is your last chance!
Submit proposals to: submissions@sharkrayareas.org
See here of a glimpse of what previous workshops were like: sharkrayareas.org/resources/wo...
#shark #ray #ISRA #chimaera #conservation
One week to go!
Before the five-day workshop for the ISRA North American and Caribbean Atlantic and the North American Pacific regions held in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. Soon over 20 contributors will gather together to assess the preliminary Areas of Interest proposals submitted thus far.
NEWS ALERT |
Mapping the path to protecting the world’s threatened sharks and rays - Important Shark and Ray Areas identified in Australian waters
Read the full article here: www.iucnssg.org/news/mapping...
#shark #ray #chimaera #ISRA #news #conservation
ISRA Workshop – Australia and Southeast Indian Ocean, 8th-12th September 2025, Adelaide, Australia
See here the full video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgGY...
PRESS RELEASE |
158 Important Shark and Ray Areas Identified Across Australia and the Southeast Indian Ocean
Read the press release here: www.iucnssg.org/news/austral...
or here: sharkrayareas.org/download/158...
#shark #ray #chimaera #ISRA #conservation
Many thanks to the generous support of the Shark Conservation Fund, @umweltministerium.de and @rewildorg.bsky.social
#shark #ray #chimaera #ISRA #publication #conservation #biodiversity
and see the workshop report here: sharkrayareas.org/download/isr...
See the workshop video online here: sharkrayareas.org/resources/wo...
and on our YouTube channel: youtu.be/LgGYfcheKdI?...
The findings strengthen regional collaboration and position Australia and the southeast Indian Ocean at the forefront of evidence-based marine management.
© IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group, 2025
Read the compendium here: doi.org/10.59216/ssg...
While ISRAs are not protected areas themselves, they help ensure conservation and ocean-use decisions are guided by the best available scientific knowledge.
The ISRA initiative provides a science-based foundation to inform marine spatial planning, fisheries management, environmental impact assessments, and species recovery efforts.
Australia’s waters host some of the world’s most evolutionarily unique sharks and rays, including sawfishes, river sharks, School Shark, Grey Nurse Shark, Whale Shark, and deepwater gulper sharks. Many of these species are listed under national environmental legislation.
These areas range from coastal nurseries used by juvenile sharks and rays to deepwater habitats important for feeding and aggregation.
Held in Adelaide in September 2025, the workshop brought together 217 experts and contributors to assess decades of research, fisheries data, and cutting-edge tracking studies. The results also highlighted 35 Areas of Interest where further research is needed.
A major scientific workshop has identified 158 Important Shark and Ray Areas (ISRAs) across Australia and the southeast Indian Ocean, providing the most comprehensive map to date of habitats essential for threatened and endemic species in the region.
