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1 Newsletter of the IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group #3/20212 Our Vision A world where sharks, rays, and chimaeras are valued and managed sustainably. Our Mission To secure the conservation, management and, where necessary, the recovery of the world’s sharks, rays, and chimaeras by mobilizing tech- nical and scientific expertise to provide the knowledge that enables action. Photo by Michael Scholl | Save Our Seas Foundation3 All content, information, text, materials, names, images, illustrations and visual repre- sentations (including, without limitation, from our members, partners, affiliates, contractors, employees and representatives) appearing on our website (iucnssg.org), in our publications (e.g. Shark News) or made available by us in any format (“Content”) is protected by intellectual property (“IP”) laws and may not be used, republished, retransmitted, reproduced, downloaded or otherwise used (except for downloading for private and non-commercial use) without the express written consent of the Chair of the IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group (SSG), author or copyright holder. This IP also extends to all trademarks appearing on the site, including the IUCN SSC SSG logo. The Content remains the exclusive property and copyright of the text authors, photographers, and illustrators in their respective credits or captions. 4 Editorial: A note from the Chair 5 The time for action is now 9 Q&A with Sarah Fowler 13 Convention on Migratory Species Sharks MOU 18 Shark Spotlight: Jordan’s Chimaera 19 Hong Kong takes a lead: Recognizing wildlife crimes as organized and serious crimes in one of the world’s top shark fin trade hubs 23 Bringing science to management and promoting Rhino Ray conser- vation in Indonesia 32 The IUCN Green Status of Species 41 Australia releases its first Shark Action Plan 43 Re-examining the status of Chilo- scyllium punctatum 49 Special Issue on Primitive Fishes 51 Using local ecolo- gical knowledge to fill in the know- ledge gaps for Ghana’s shark fisheries 53 A new study found underreported catches of threate- ned elasmobranchs in Greece 56 SharkApp 58 Trading fins for conservation 61 Releasing for caring 64 Managing an ex situ elasmobranch population in Europe 68 A Crash Course on the Human Dimen- sions of Shark Conservation 71 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species update 2021-2 74 Whale Sharks – Biology, Ecology, and Conservation 79 Funding Opportunities 80 Upcoming Meetings Proofreaders Michael Scholl Rima Jabado Chelsea Stein Design & art direction Peter Scholl scholldesign.com Published by the IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group (SSG) Dr. Rima W. Jabado P.O. Box 29588 | Dubai United Arab Emirates Covers: These images of an Elephant Fish (Callorhinchus milii) were taken in late summer, when they move from the edge of the continental shelf, from 300m deep, to shallow sheltered bays to mate and lay their eggs. Westernport Bay near Melbourne, Australia, is a perfect place for this to occur, being shal- low, silty and with a good supply of marine worms, crabs and small molluscs. This male was photographed near the entry to the bay, where clear water is briefly pushed in on the rising tide. Editor-in-chief Michael Scholl Chief Editor Rima Jabado Photo by Kelvin Aitken Cover photos by Kelvin Aitken | Marine Themes Pty Ltd | marinethemes.com4 Dear readers, I have just returned from my first large international event since the COVID-19 pan- demic began, the World Conservation Congress (WCC) in Marseille, France. It’s not often that you find yourself at an event with almost 6,000 people (despite COVID restrictions!), with most participants working on or at least involved in one aspect of conservation. The passion, the drive, the hope for change is tangible at each of the events attended and across all conversations. So many people striving to make a dif- ference in a range of fauna, flora, and funga including, of course, sharks. The meet- ing was a wake-up call in some sense for many, but there was also a lot of hope and optimism. The conversation around extinction was often shifting towards resilience, recovery, and solutions to the challenges we face when working in this field. Sadly, this is where we also announced the results of the last global assessment for chondrichthyans. In the new paper titled ‘Overfishing drives over one-third of all sharks and rays towards a global extinction crisis’, we report that it is now estimated that 37% of sharks, rays, and chimaeras are threatened with extinction, according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Categories and Criteria. With that, we now also have the first three species of sharks and rays that are flagged as Critically En- dangered – Possibly Extinct because they have not been recorded in decades even though survey efforts have been undertaken across their known range. Despite this grim outlook, one key thing discussed at WCC is the concept of species recovery and the Reverse the Red campaign – the global movement to ensure the survival of wild species. We now know conservation works, which is a cause for optimism and incentive for more action for many species. And even though threats to sharks, rays, and chimaeras continue unabated, in this third issue of Shark News, we wanted to share some good news stories from around the world. You can read about how scientists and government entities in Indonesia have mobilized very quickly to understand and improve the status of rhino rays (sawfishes, wedgefishes, giant gui- tarfishes, and guitarfishes); how in Brazil, what started as a small project is making waves with coastal fishing communities who are now voluntarily releasing a Critical- ly Endangered species of guitarfish; and how in Belize, fishers are currently working with scientists to provide information on their catches and inform policy. With this, we delve into IUCN’s ‘Green Status of Species’, a new global standard to measure how close a species is to be fully ecologically functional across its range and how much it has recovered due to conservation action. We have examples from three species of sharks. Once this tool is integrated as a complement to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, we will have a fuller picture of species’ conservation status in terms of their extinction risk and progress towards their recovery. Along with oth- er stories from fieldwork in Ghana, Greece, and Malaysia, we have more good news from Australia, where only 12% of species are considered threatened, showcasing how fisheries management can work. Finally, the WCC is also when all IUCN Specialist Groups are dissolved and re-established and where so many decisions re- lated to the functioning and program priorities of the IUCN are finalized. I have tried to provide a summary of some of the highlights from the Congress and some of the changes to the Shark Specialist Group in terms of membership. Once again, thank you to all members and non-members that have contributed to this issue. And of course, special thanks to Michael Scholl for coordinating all the contributions and design of Shark News. Rima A note from the Chair Rima Jabado Artwork by Keith Witmer5 An update from the World Conser- vation Congress – Marseille 2021 T he International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Conservation Congress usually takes place around the world once every four years. It was originally planned for June 2020, and after several postponements due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 7th IUCN Congress finally took place between September 3–10 in Marseille, France. It’s one of those unique events that brings together people from all walks of life -- thousands of leaders and decision-makers from governments, civil society, academia and conservationists from around the world to discuss solutions to the growing challenges facing nature and biodiversity as well as form new partnerships. In a world still slowly emerging from the pandemic, the Con- gress was the first global major environmental event to be held in hybrid format. This allowed those unable to physically attend the event to follow and participate in some parts of the Con- gress remotely. Overall, it attracted over 6,000 in-person partic- ipants as well as about 3,500 online registrations. It drew strong political attention with an opening ceremony which included speeches by French President Emmanuel Macron, the President of the European Central Bank Christine Lagarde, the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the famous Brazilian photographer Sebastiao Salgado, and the actor and Vice-Chair of Conserva- tion International’s Board of Directors Harrison Ford (amongst many others), all recognizing that now is the time for action and making a strong commitment to conservation. ‘The time for action is now.’ Written by Dr Rima Jabado IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group | Chair The IUCN Congress agenda consisted of three main com- ponents: the Members’ Assembly, the IUCN’s highest deci- sion-making body where IUCN Members (governments and non-governmental organizations) jointly vote on priority ac- tions for conservation and sustainability; the Forum, a hub of conservation science and innovation with over 600 sessions organized through different types of events from high-level dialogues to training workshops; and the Exhibition, where ex- hibitors can showcase their work to Congress participants and the public. The Congress was structured around the themes of Landscapes, Freshwater, Oceans, Climate change, Rights and Governance, Economic and Financial Systems, and Knowledge, Innovation and Technology. However, to me at least, the recur- ring themes across exhibition stands, panel discussions, and even side-bar conversations were the state of biodiversity and its collapse, as well as the growing threat of climate change. Some key outcomes were: • the approval of the IUCN programme for 2021–2024 – Nature 2030: Union in Action • the election of IUCN’s officials for the next four years, notably, the new IUCN President, Razan Al Mubarak from the United Arab Emirates (the first woman from the Arab world to hold this role) as well as the re-election of Dr Jon Paul Rodriguez from Vene- zuela as the Chair of the Species Survival Commission; • the Marseille Manifesto highlighting that ‘Humanity has reached a tipping point. Our window of opportunity to respond to these interlinked emergencies and share planetary resourc- es equitably is narrowing quickly. Our existing systems do not work. Economic “success” can no longer come at nature’s expense. We urgently need systemic reform.’; Photo by Rima Jabado6 Photos by Rima Jabado7 Update on the IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group With the new quadrennium officially upon us, I also wanted to take the time to provide an update on the IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group network. Our membership increased by 38.5% since 2017, from 171 members during the 2017–2020 quadrenni- um to 237 members in 2021. We renewed memberships for 108 of the 171 members from the previous quadrennium and invited 129 new members to join our group. We now have members from 82 countries compared to 51 countries previously. We have done our best to build a diverse network in terms of gender, age and geographic distribution, and expertise. Our members are spread out across nine re- gions: North America (12.2%), Central America and the Caribbean (6.8%), South America (14.8%), Northern Europe (9.3%), Mediter- ranean (11.4%), Africa (13.1%), Indian Ocean (9.2%), Asia (13.1%), and Oceania (8.9%). Geographic distribution of IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group mem- bers by countries and territories (n=82) and by the nine regions (numbers indicate the total number of members in each region) • the adoption of 28 motions on a range of conservation and sustainable development issues, including urgent motions that had been tabled in the last month. These included motions on the Protection of deep-ocean ecosystems and biodiversity through a moratorium on seabed mining (#069) and the Controlling and monitoring trade in croaker swim bladders to protect target croakers and reducing incidental catches of marine megafauna (#132); • the adoption of 109 resolutions and recommendations includ- ing those [relevant to sharks and rays] on: Aquatic biodiver- sity conservation of shallow marine and freshwater systems (#012), Reducing impacts of incidental capture on threatened marine species (#023), For an improved management of drift- ing fish aggregating devices (FADs) in purse seine fisheries (#024), Implementing international efforts to combat the sale of illegal wildlife products online (#040), Guidance to identify industrial fishing incompatible with protected areas (#055), Global Conservation of rhino rays (Rhinidae, Glaucostegidae, Rhinobatidae) (#91), and Reducing the impact of fisheries on marine biodiversity (#107); and • the re-establishment of the IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group and its members for the next four years. There were a number of conservation success stories that were highlighted throughout the Congress. Notably, for marine species, the focus was on signs of recovery of four tuna species due to the enforcement of sustainable fishing quotas and work to reduce illegal fishing. However, for sharks, rays, and chi- maeras, the news was rather grim. On September 4th, a press conference was held to announce the results of the latest IUCN Red List of Threatened Species assessments. We announced that 32–37.5% (estimate depending on whether Data Deficient species are assumed to be threatened in the same proportion as assessed species) of sharks, rays, and chimaeras are now considered threatened (Critically Endangered, Endangered, or Vulnerable) according to IUCN Red List criteria. These species now rank second among vertebrates (after amphibians) in terms of extinction threat. They are threatened primarily due to over- fishing, compounded by loss and degradation of habitat and climate change. The complete study can be found here. IUCN Congress in numbers Source: IUCN newsletter – September 11th, 2021 Attendance • 9,200 participants in Marseille and online • 25,000 visits by the general public to the Exhibition and Nature Generation Areas Virtual participation • 50,000+ views of online sessions • 4,730 individual connections • 19,000+ hours viewed Media • 10,000 news stories • 140 countries covered the Congress Social media • 54 million people reached per day with #IUCNcongress • 567% increase in engagement over August 2021 8 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 2017- 2020 2021- 2024 2017- 2020 2021- 2024 We still have some work to do regarding gender representation, but overall we have also increased our percentage of male to female members from 72.5% and 27.5% respectively in 2017–2020 to 63.3% and 36.7% in 2021–2024. Finally, we have tried to diversify our expertise so that not all members are shark, ray, and chimaera scientists but are also working on policy, advocacy, conservation planning, ex-situ conservation, and education. We have tried to engage and have relatively equal representation from members in academia (25.3% - both university staff and students), research institutes (24.9%) and non-governmental organizations (23.5%) but also broadened our membership to those working in governmental organizations (9.7%), aquariums (5.5%) and those in other fields such as arts and communications (3.8%). Academia Aquarium Government organization NGOs Others Research Institute Students - Academia Comparison of gender distribution of IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group members for the previous quadrennium (2017–2020) and the current quadrennium (2021–2024) Distribution of IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group members in terms of affiliation. 9 By Dr Rima Jabado IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group | Chair “I was always destined to be a marine biologist from my early days as a child. I went to university to do marine biology and then decided to take an MSc course on Nature Conservation in London. I was one of the few people in the UK to have a ma- rine conservation qualification back then,” said Sarah Fowler, an independent consultant, one that has made an immense contribution to shark and ray conservation over the last three decades. During this time, Sarah has worn many hats. She started her career working at the Nature Conservancy Council as a gov- ernment advisor on biodiversity conservation. Back then, her role meant she had to work on anything conservation related along the coast of the UK – from seaweeds and invertebrates to unmanaged fish species such as Basking Sharks (Cetorhinus maximus), the Common Skate (Dipturus batis) and the An- gelshark (Squatina squatina). She continued working on these issues when she left that job, including drafting some of the first UK Species Action Plans and advocating for UK species protection. Sarah also became familiar with International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Action Plans and the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Despite her earlier work on sharks, it was by chance that she got involved in shark conservation. “Over coffee with a friend, I was complaining and saying: ‘you know, there is a real problem with shark conservation, sharks are in so much trouble, nobody cares, no one has noticed, something needs to be done about it.’ My colleague dashed off a fax to IUCN, and a few hours later my phone rang – it was Dr Simon Stuart (then Director of the IUCN Species Programme; later Chair of the Species Survival Commission), saying that a Shark Specialist Group was being set up, that Dr Samuel Gruber (Sonny) would be Chair and that I would be Deputy Chair. That was it – changed my life,” she recalls. And so, in 1991, Sarah became one of the founding members of the SSG and entered a leadership role for 18 years as Deputy Chair, Acting Chair, and then Co-Chair. Her role was diverse, and she initially spent a substantial amount of time just setting up group administration, fundraising to launch Shark News -- the official SSG newsletter, asking a friend to design an SSG logo, creating letterheads, developing a database of members, and inviting contributions for an IUCN shark status report. “Everyone else in the group was an eminent shark researcher including Sonny, Malcolm Francis, Leonard Compagno, John Stevens and many many great researchers, but very few were actually professional marine conservationists, and I guess that’s where I fitted in,” she said. At that time, shark conservation was in its infancy, and one of the first issues the SSG had to address was the practice of fin- ning. There were already shark fisheries in the 1930s and 1940s for several species like the Porbeagle Shark (Lamna nasus) for its meat and even the Basking Shark for its liver oil. But in the 1980s, the demand for shark fins from China exploded and with that came an increase in fisheries targeting sharks for their fins. “This is really why the SSG was established. It was at that time that Sonny Gruber had realized that his study animals [Lemon Sharks, Negaprion brevirostris) were disappearing or were not as abundant as they used to be in Florida. Sid Cook wrote an article in his newsletter Chondros about the impact of shark finning on the increasing mortality of many species. The founding mem- bers of the SSG were still struggling to convince fisheries man- agers that sharks were wildlife and needed to be conserved. Actually, it was difficult to address the impact of fisheries on sharks, but finning (and discarding the carcasses) was a differ- ent story because no one could say it was good practice, and it was an easy concept for people to grasp. That was the issue that put sharks on the map as a major biodiversity conservation challenge,” she said. Even with all the efforts of the SSG, its members, and countless other organizations, addressing fin- ning took a long time. “It was a struggle from the beginning. We had to work through the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES) [see below], the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Regional Fisheries Management Organizations, and developed a particular focus on Europe, because of the huge impact of Eu- ropean Union fishing fleets. The debate on the impact of these fleets on shark mortality led to the establishment of the Shark Alliance, which was a hugely successful campaign that led to Artwork by Keith Witmer Meet one of the founding members of the IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group: Sarah Fowler Sarah discusses her long and diverse career in shark conservationNext >