Writing Retreat on the Global Status Report on Sharks, Rays, and Chimaeras

Writing Retreat on the Global Status Report on Sharks, Rays, and Chimaeras

Written by Alexandra Z.A. Morata

IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group | Program Officer

A roadmap for future policy and research actions for sharks, rays, and chimaeras

The IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group (SSG) hosted their second Global Report Writing workshop from Saturday, 18th March, to Monday, 20th March, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This allowed us to gather contributors from IUCN SSC SSG's Asia and Indian Ocean regions. These regions were underrepresented in our first workshop in October 2022, held alongside Sharks International (Valencia, Spain). Twenty-two contributors joined us in person from the SSG regional groups of Asia (n=13), Indian Ocean (n=8), and Oceania (n=2).

The overall aim of the Global Report is to provide the necessary updates in relation to scientific information and advice that will lead to rational and responsible management, funding allocation, and research priorities to ensure the conservation of sharks around the world. This covers all known species of chondrichthyans –Sharks, Rays, and Chimaeras – comprising over 1,250 species.

Currently, the report has 293 contributors from around the world who have volunteered to provide updates from their respective countries or regions.

The next steps are to complete drafting the report and move to reviewing, consolidating and standardising it by the end of 2023, to publish it in 2024.

For more information on the first workshop, read issue #07 of Shark News here

The Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund generously funded this workshop. We thank the funders for providing this opportunity and the report's contributors for their time and efforts.

Workshop participants left to right: Fahmi, Tassapon Krajangdara, Quang Van Vo, Abd Haris Hilmi Ahmad Arshad, Akshay Tanna, Akhilesh Kalli Valappil, Daniel Fernando, Alexandra Morata, Divya Karnad, Jean A. Utzurrum, Alastair Harry, Rima Jabado, Elisabeth Fahrni Mansur, Christine Dudgeon, Hua Hsun Hsu, Zhang Jie, Chen Jiajie, Ahmad Ali. Front row: Ranny R. Yuneni, Serena Adam, Benaya Simeon, Atsuko Yamaguchi

Petronas Towers | Rima Jabado