#SharkAwarenessDay Nearly 1/2 of numbfish species are threatened, yet most have <1% of their range in no-take MPAs. Explore species-level MPA coverage in our new paper: tinyurl.com/SharkRayMPA and app: tinyurl.com/sharkRayMpaExplorer @iucnshark.bsky.social #numbfishes #sharks #rays #conservation

We also built a free Shark & Ray MPA Explorer so researchers, managers, and conservationists can explore species-level MPA coverage for all 1,158 species. If you're interested in sharks and rays, take a look! tinyurl.com/SharkRayMPAExplorer @sfubiosciences.bsky.social @society4conbio.bsky.social

We suggest three ways forward: • Monitor biodiversity outcomes alongside spatial targets like 30×30. • Require reporting of take status to the WDPA. • Incorporate biodiversity explicitly when designing MPAs. @sfugradstudies.bsky.social

Another major finding: Much of the reported MPA coverage comes from sites where take regulations aren't reported to the World Database on Protected Areas. Only about 34% of countries report take status for any of their MPAs, making it difficult to evaluate how much effective protection exists.

Some of our key findings: • Only 6 threatened sharks and rays have more than 10% of their range protected by no-take MPAs. • Only 24% of threatened sharks and 18% of threatened rays have over 1% of their species range covered by no-take MPAs @sfubiosciences.bsky.social @earth2ocean.bsky.social

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are one of the main ways we protect the ocean, but an important question often goes unasked: How does global MPA coverage actually relate to species range coverage? We quantified MPA coverage across the national-water ranges of 1,158 species. @sfuscience.bsky.social

Most shark and ray species have <1% of their range covered by no-take MPAs. New open access in @consletters.bsky.social: Sharks, Rays, & MPAs: a global assessment of MPA coverage in national waters across species ranges tinyurl.com/SharkRayMPA @nickdulvy.bsky.social @jaymatsushiba.bsky.social

New walking shark discovered in Papua New Guinea

New walking shark discovered in Papua New Guinea

Researchers have described a new-to-science species of walking shark, which lives in the remote, shallow waters off southeastern Papua New Guinea. The newly named Dudgeon’s walking shark…

news.mongabay.com

If you have a moment, please have a read...

Sarah Foster@sarahjfoster.bsky.social · 3mo ago

In this piece for The Conversation, we present the findings and consequences of research that set out to answer what should be basic questions in fisheries: how many fish species are being caught in bottom trawl nets, and what are they? @amandavincent.bsky.social theconversation.com/bottom-trawl...

🥁🥁🥁 We’re hiring! The Narwhal is looking for a senior B.C. reporter and a senior national reporter to pursue ambitious journalism about the natural world in B.C. and Canada. More details threaded 🧶: thenarwhal.ca/work-with-us/

Work with us | The Narwhal

Jobs, hiring updates, fellowships, freelancing opportunities and opinion submission guidelines for our environment and energy coverage.

thenarwhal.ca

A week from now I will be traveling across the world to Colombo, Sri Lanka for #SharksInternational2026 ! If you are interested in shark life histories and what drives population growth rates, come see my presentation @sharks-int.bsky.social #SI2026

If you: - are part of the ray fan club, - wonder why I post from a museum collection every few months, - are interested in the connections between morphology, ecology, and biodiversity, And are going to #SharksInternational2026, check out my talk on Monday, 4 May at 12:40! @sharks-int.bsky.social

I’m headed to Sri Lanka in 1 week for #SharksInternational2026! Excited to see everyone’s work! If you’re interested in species’ MPA coverage, international reporting of no-take areas, or a new tool for exploring coverage for your study species/region, come check out my talk @sharks-int.bsky.social

🚨 New(ish) PhD paper out in @natcomms.nature.com with @hannahvwatkins.bsky.social, Ale Siqueira, and Dave Bellwood comparing the effects of warming temperatures 🥵 and commercial fisheries 🎣 on the growth performance of marine fishes 🌐 🦑🧪 🔗 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

While jellies are quite scary during stinger season, fishes that feed on these planktonic jellies contribute a whopping ~25% to the productivity of coral reef fishes 🪼🐟 Check out our new OA paper in @natecoevo.nature.com, led by PhD student James Gahan, here: www.nature.com/articles/s41... 🌐 🦑🧪

a cartoon fish is swimming in the ocean with its eyes closed .

Alt: Scene from Finding Nemo, Dory the blue tang touches a jelly fish which stings her, causing her to retreat

media.tenor.com

JOINT PhD OPPORTUNITY! 🚨🦈 Work with Uni of Qld and @exeter.ac.uk on this amazing project developing insights for managing vulnerable species in fisheries globally. DEADLINE: 26th APRIL 2026 Apply and learn more - scholarships.uq.edu.au/scholarship/... 🦑🦈🌊🎣🧪🌐 @kristianmetcalfe.bsky.social #PhDsky

Excited to share our new paper in @natcomms.nature.com We synthesize causal discovery & inference approaches across traditions (regression adjustment, quasi-expts, SEMs, Granger causality, convergent cross-mapping, and more) into a unified workflow for ecologists. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Best practices for moving from correlation to causation in ecological research - Nature Communications

Different scientific traditions offer&nbsp;seemingly disparate&nbsp;approaches to inferring causal relationships in ecological systems. This Perspective unifies the causal assumptions and methods from...

nature.com

Happy International Day of Women and Girls in Science! Grateful for the mentors, collaborators, and friends who make science stronger every day. #WomeninSTEM @rachhson.bsky.social @sfubiosciences.bsky.social @sfuscience.bsky.social

What success looks like (5–10 years) • Fishing mortality aligned with species’ life histories • Species-level reporting becomes the norm • Management completeness rises above critical thresholds • Shark & ray populations stabilize and recover Read the paper here: rdcu.be/eZ9n9

Bending back the curve of shark and ray biodiversity loss

Nature Reviews Biodiversity - Global shark and ray populations have declined sharply, driven by expanding fisheries and inequitable gaps in catch, trade and distribution data. This Review assesses...

rdcu.be

• 40% of global shark & ray catch comes from low- and middle-income countries • Small-scale fisheries underpin livelihoods and food security • Under-resourced management = high biodiversity & social risk • Reduced fishing mortality reduces extinction & social risk, improving ecosystem functions.

Where investment has the highest leverage to bend back biodiversity loss? Funding that strengthens: • Species-level catch & trade data • Compliance and enforcement • Capacity in national agencies • Monitoring in small-scale fisheries → Directly reduces fishing mortality

We don’t need new frameworks — we need to connect and implement the ones we have. Fisheries management, trade rules, compliance, and demand must align to reduce fishing mortality at scale. Implementation is the bottleneck. @hollieboothie.bsky.social @sharkcolin.bsky.social

Decline is not inevitable. Where fishing mortality has been reduced — through catch limits, retention bans, or spatial protection — shark and ray populations are stabilizing or recovering. Recoveries documented for wide-ranging and restricted-range species @charlie-huveneers.bsky.social

Gaps in catch limits, compliance, and enforcement mean fishing mortality stays high even where policies exist. Where management is complete, risk is lower and recovery is possible. @hollieboothie.bsky.social @sharkcolin.bsky.social Read the paper here: rdcu.be/eZ9n9

Overfishing is compounded by under-management Fishing mortality is the primary driver & management completeness (for guitarfishes & requiem sharks) stands at ~49% globally. @sammsherman27.bsky.social @vanderwright.bsky.social Read the paper here: rdcu.be/eZ9n9

What’s driving the decline? The crisis isn’t just fishing — it’s invisible fishing. Much shark & ray catch is under-reported, aggregated, or mislabeled, masking real mortality & delaying management. What we don’t measure, we don’t manage. @cgmull.bsky.social @nathanpacoureau.bsky.social

Sharks & rays are sentinels of ocean health. - Global abundance has been fished down by 65%, - Now 37.5% of species are threatened, - The current extinction rate is 25–250 times greater than the background fossil record, with greatest losses in tropical coastal seas. #BiodiversityTargets

New #sharkscience #sharkconservation "Bending back the curve of shark and ray biodiversity loss" in @natrevbiodiv.nature.com go.nature.com/4jXOnaC What will it take to reverse shark biodiversity loss? Find out in our new article out today. @nickdulvy.bsky.social @iucnshark.bsky.social

Bending back the curve of shark and ray biodiversity loss - Nature Reviews Biodiversity

Global shark and ray populations have declined sharply, driven by expanding fisheries and inequitable gaps in catch, trade and distribution data. This Review assesses global status, highlights drivers...

aus01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com

New paper out today in @natrevbiodiv.nature.com by the #GlobalSharkTrends team: Bending back the curve of shark & ray biodiversity loss; Read the paper here: rdcu.be/eZ9n9 @sfu.ca @sfubiosciences.bsky.social @earth2ocean.bsky.social

New online! Bending back the curve of shark and ray biodiversity loss

Bending back the curve of shark and ray biodiversity loss

Nature Reviews Biodiversity, Published online: 22 January 2026; doi:10.1038/s44358-025-00120-2Global shark and ray populations have declined sharply, driven by expanding fisheries and inequitable gaps in catch, trade and distribution data. This Review assesses global status, highlights drivers of decline, and outlines the regulatory, market-based and conservation actions needed to reduce mortality and reverse shark and ray biodiversity loss.

dlvr.it