14 Jan 2025

New research has found more than 200 measures to protect sharks and rays across the 22 coastal states of the Mediterranean region Overfishing, illegal fishing and increasing marketing of shark meat pose significant threats to the more than 80 species of sharks and rays that inhabit the Mediterranean Sea, according to a new study.   […]

03 Dec 2024

A third of sharks, rays, and chimaeras are threatened with extinction, says a new landmark report. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has released a report, Global Status of Sharks, Rays and Chimaeras, that highlights new knowledge compiled by 353 experts from 115 countries and stresses the urgent need to address overfishing and bycatch […]

13 Aug 2024

With more than 500 species of sharks in the world’s oceans, ranging from the 7-inch dwarf lantern shark to 35 feet long whale shark, sharks are found from polar waters to the equator and at the water’s surface to miles deep. Although there is considerable variation in feeding modes and body sizes, sharks are often […]

21 May 2024

A new report sheds light on the future impacts of climate change on marine species across the United Kingdom. Focussing on 21 marine species listed as ‘threatened’ or ‘declining’, ranging from sharks and rays to seahorses and oysters, predictive models were used to forecast the impacts of climate change on ‘habitat suitability’. Factors such as […]

26 Mar 2024

By Brittany Finucci of the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research and Cassandra Rigby of James Cook University: The deep ocean, beyond 200 metres of depth, is the largest and one of the most complex environments on the planet. It covers 84% of the world’s ocean area and 98% of its volume – and […]

12 Feb 2024

The first-ever State of the World’s Migratory Species report has been launched by the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), a UN biodiversity treaty, at the opening of a major UN wildlife conservation conference (CMS COP14). The landmark report reveals: Nearly all (97 per cent) of CMS-listed fish are threatened with extinction. While […]

09 Jan 2024

Every year, around 70,000 turtles and 200,000 seabirds die as a result of being caught as bycatch in EU fishing fleets.   Bycatch is when other marine species are unintentionally trapped by commercial fishing gear. This can account for up to 40% of total fishing catches, globally reaching as much as 38 million tonnes discarded per […]

02 Jan 2024

Fin repair in sharks is common, though it is rarely full. Typically scar tissue forms in wounds, closing them, offering a small degree of regeneration. A marine biologist at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science, has documented a case of a silky shark with a regenerated dorsal fin, after […]