A recent assessment using the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species indicated that more than one-third of sharks, rays, and chimaeras are threatened with extinction.  

Work to protect these species is multi-faceted and can be challenging because of the dependency of many coastal communities on these species for their protein needs. The identification of Important Shark and Ray Areas (ISRAs) is one of the approaches to address this biodiversity crisis by ensuring critical habitats for these species are identified and mapped.

After thorough evaluation, 238 candidate sites were identified to undergo a final review by an independent panel before being listed as such and placed on the ISRA e-Atlas (www.sharkrayareas.org).

In August this year, shark and ray experts from across the Pacific Islands region and New Zealand met to review over 350 potential Areas of Interest across Oceania. These sites are those that are important for life-history processes such as reproduction, aggregation, feeding, or as migratory pathways.

The ISRA workshop hosted in Fiji brought together 26 experts and is the sixth of 13 regional workshops to be held worldwide between 2022–2027. Currently, 410 ISRAs have already been delineated from across the five regions assessed: Central and South American Pacific, Mediterranean and Black Seas, Western Indian Ocean, Asia, and Polar Waters.

“These sites were recognised based upon review of data collated from across the region. Experts sieved through scientific literature, consulted with fisheries experts and dive centres to gather sufficient evidence to submit proposed ISRA sites for assessment from the Expert Panel,” said Ms. Karen Baird, the Threatened and Migratory Species Adviser of the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP).

“The plan will be to have these sites uploaded on the website and information on them shared to our SPREP Members to include as part of their assessments when deciding on Marine Protected Areas and other marine protection initiatives leading up to their delineation of 30x30 conservation and management commitments for marine ecosystems.”

ISRAs can support marine spatial planning  including MPA design and implementation and can also be an important resource when undertaking environmental impact assessments of activities that may impact shark and ray populations. These sites will add to already existing Important Marine Mammal Areas and Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas that have been identified for the region, supporting Oceania’s efforts to conserve and protect our economically and culturally important marine biodiversity.

“The workshop provided a valuable opportunity to ensure that Papua New Guinea’s important habitats for sharks and rays are incorporated into the ISRA process. Our involvement underscored the critical need for targeted conservation strategies to safeguard Papua New Guinea’s unique and threatened shark and ray species’, stated Yolarnie Amepou, Director of the Piku Biodiversity Network in Papua New Guinea.

Sharks and rays are vital animals to a healthy global ocean and, in many regions, to the economy and culture. Currently, within the Pacific Island region over 17.1 million collective square kilometres totalling the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) of the Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, New Caledonia, Palau, and Samoa protect sharks. Each of these eight Pacific Islands have declared their EEZs as a Shark Sanctuary.

“While many of these island nations have declared Shark Sanctuaries, various levels of resource extraction is still possible and rays have been overlooked. The ISRAs identified through this process will allow for targeted conservation at a small site scale, ensure that sharks, rays, and chimaeras are considered in ongoing conservation planning processes, and promote the conservation and recovery of these culturally important species in the long term,” noted Dr. Rima Jabado, Deputy Chair of the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) and Chair of the IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group.

The New Zealand and Pacific Islands ISRA Region 10 workshop was held from 26 to 30 August 2024 in Nadi, Fiji. It is the culmination of a partnership between the IUCN Species Survival Commission Shark Specialist Group and the Shark Conservation Fund.