Fisheries Research Articles

Directed conservation of the world’s reef sharks and rays

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

5-20-2024

Journal Title

Nature Ecology & Evolution

ISSN

2397-334X

Keywords

Conservation biology, Marine biology, Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development Western Australia

Disciplines

Aquaculture and Fisheries | Marine Biology

Abstract

Many shark populations are in decline around the world, with severe ecological and economic consequences. Fisheries management and marine protected areas (MPAs) have both been heralded as solutions. However, the effectiveness of MPAs alone is questionable, particularly for globally threatened sharks and rays (‘elasmobranchs’), with little known about how fisheries management and MPAs interact to conserve these species. Here we use a dedicated global survey of coral reef elasmobranchs to assess 66 fully protected areas embedded within a range of fisheries management regimes across 36 countries. We show that conservation benefits were primarily for reef-associated sharks, which were twice as abundant in fully protected areas compared with areas open to fishing. Conservation benefits were greatest in large protected areas that incorporate distinct reefs. However, the same benefits were not evident for rays or wide-ranging sharks that are both economically and ecologically important while also threatened with extinction. We show that conservation benefits from fully protected areas are close to doubled when embedded within areas of effective fisheries management, highlighting the importance of a mixed management approach of both effective fisheries management and well-designed fully protected areas to conserve tropical elasmobranch assemblages globally.

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Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-024-02386-9