The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species has just been updated and now includes assessments of 1,266 species of sharks, rays, and chimaeras.

Figure 1: highlighting various pathways through which mining can impact sharks, rays, and chimaeras including collector impact and plumes, and discharge plumes.

Figure 2: The diversity of sharks, rays, and chimaeras impacted by deep sea mining operations. Nearly 2/3 of these species are already at an elevated risk of extinction.

New paper led by @seaprinceaaron.bsky.social in @currentbiology.bsky.social looking at the threats deep sea mining poses for sharks, rays, and chimaeras. We found 30 species are threatened via various pathways including collector impact and plumes at depth and pelagic discharge plumes.

124 Important Shark and Ray Areas (ISRA) Identified Across the European Atlantic

Major step forward for threatened species conservation in Northern Europe. See here for a snippet from the ISRA regional workshop and learn more about what occurs in-person.

@fbiodiversidad.bsky.social
@icmcsic.bsky.social
@claudiobarria.bsky.social
@society4conbio.bsky.social
@iucnshark.bsky.social
@uv.es

8/8
Investing in practices that align fishing with conservation is investing in:
✅ More resilient seas
✅ A sustainable future
Not only for sharks but also for people who depend on the ocean 🎣

🤝 Solutions exist but success relies on alliances between science, institutions & fishers

7/8
Our results support measures to:
⏱️ Release sharks immediately
🌡️ Avoid thermal stress
🦈 Protect juveniles

➡️ Preventive tools: 🚢 spatio-temporal closures & excluder devices (high risk areas and periods).
➡️ On-capture actions: 🛝 release ramps, 🛟 shaded areas, 📋 clear handling protocols.

6/8
Identifying AVM drivers & thresholds is crucial to:
✅ Inform species-specific bycatch mitigation
✅ Guide measures for vulnerable taxa
✅ Support risk-based management approaches

🌍 Our framework is scalable across species, regions & fisheries.

5/8
Key predictors of AVM:
📏 Body size
🌡️ Air temperature
⌛️ Time on deck

Thresholds:
🔴 >20 °C (S. canicula)
🔵 >16 °C (G. melastomus)
⏱️ >15 min deck exposure
➡️ Small juveniles (<40 cm / <55 cm) most vulnerable

4/8
Study species: two abundant, small-bodied demersal sharks with contrasting depth ranges.
🟢 Scyliorhinus canicula (small-spotted catshark)
🔵 Galeus melastomus (blackmouth catshark)

Sample: 2,445 individuals from 66 commercial trawl hauls.

3/8
We applied boosted regression trees (BRTs) to assess 12 biological, environmental & operational predictors of AVM.
This approach captured:
🔁 Predictor interactions
📈 Nonlinear effects
🚨 Thresholds where AVM rises sharply

2/8
⚠️ Chondrichthyans are highly vulnerable to overfishing, and post-capture mortality is a major threat.

📘 Guidelines recommend strategies tailored to:
🔹 Species vulnerability
🔹 Socioeconomic & regulatory fit

⚙️ There is no one-size-fits-all solution.

Key drivers of at‐vessel mortality in demersal sharks Chondrichthyans are highly vulnerable to fisheries overexploitation, and postcapture mortality poses a significant threat to most species. Global bycatch mitigation guidelines recommend adopting hier...

1/8 🚨 New paper out in Conservation Biology!

We identified the key drivers of at-vessel mortality (AVM) in demersal sharks accidentally caught in Mediterranean bottom trawl fisheries, using machine learning.

🔗 doi.org/10.1111/cobi...
🦈 #Bycatch #SharkConservation

What the Marine Strategy Framework Directive did and did not change for Chondrichthyes The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) is a European Union (EU) law aiming to achieve Good Environmental Status (GES) in all EU waters, which …

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... 🦑🧪🌎🦈🐠

The unexpected discovery of catsharks laying eggs on ghost
fishing gear explained!

We are happy to share we participated in the last Issue 11 of Shark News! We wrote a story on the findings of our recent paper on catsharks laying eggs on plastics. Link of the issue: iucnssg.org/shark-news.html @davidruizgarcia.bsky.social @bfiguerola.bsky.social #UV_EV #ICMCSIC #sharks #plastics

🐟🌊Did you know #Catsharks are laying eggs on plastic? In our article for Shark News, we explore whether this is an adaptation or a warning of conservation crisis🦈

Shark News: www.iucnssg.org/shark-news.h...
Scientific Paper: doi.org/10.1016/j.sc...

Deepwater species need attention and protection ⬇️⬇️⬇️

Desde aquí os quisiera desear una #FelizNavidad y unas #FelicesFiestas, ¡pero que sobre todo sean muy cartilaginosas! 😉🦈

The IUCN Red List categories and criteria

The IUCN Red List logo

Did you know that you can get trained in IUCN Red List assessment for free online?

I have my undergrads do this as a semester-long assignment to understand policy-relevant science. You can do it too! 🧪🦑🌎

www.conservationtraining.org/course/index...

Scalloped hammerhead sharks (Sphyrna lewini) IUCN Critically Endangered © Masayuki Agawa_Ocean Image Bank

New #GlobalSharkTrends study published in @science.org reveals #overfishing has more than halved shark & ray populations over the past 50-years causing widespread erosion of ecological function and exceptionally high extinction risk
👉Full article bit.ly/GlobalSharkTrends
🧵1/20

Finally out! Proud to have contributed to the Threats and Spanish sections of the most comprehensive report on the conservation status of chondrichthyans. Grateful to have worked with some of the researchers I admire most - hoping it makes a real difference for sharks, rays, and chimaeras worldwide