Session: S-147
Priorities and goals for conservation of elasmobranchs in Asia

Overexploitation of marine resources and habitat degradation has caused an enormous loss of marine biodiversity in the worlds’ oceans. While overfishing and habitat degradation have profoundly altered populations of marine animals, certain apex predator species groups such as sharks, rays and chimaeras (class Chondrichthyes, herein referred to as ‘sharks’) have been particularly targeted. An estimated one quarter of Chondrichthyan... [ view more ]

Overexploitation of marine resources and habitat degradation has caused an enormous loss of marine biodiversity in the worlds’ oceans. While overfishing and habitat degradation have profoundly altered populations of marine animals, certain apex predator species groups such as sharks, rays and chimaeras (class Chondrichthyes, herein referred to as ‘sharks’) have been particularly targeted. An estimated one quarter of Chondrichthyan species worldwide are under threat of extinction. To further increase threats facing Chondrichthyes, countries with some of the highest number of threatened species have the highest share of shark landings in the world, and minimal to non-existent fisheries management. Among shark fishing nations, India has a very high diversity of chondrichthyan species and has the second largest share of shark landings in the world while Indonesia has the highest share. India has suffered a 20% decline in Chondrichthyan stocks in the past decade and at the current rate of shark fishing, unprecedented population declines in local and global populations that migrate through the area may occur, leading to an increased rate of extinction and erosion of commercially important elasmobranchs and non-elasmobranch stocks. Inspite of this urgency, hardly any concrete efforts have been made to collaborate with fishing communities and come up with priority strategies to conserve these species. This symposium will  focus on current measures, and future goals and priorities for the conservation of elasmobranchs in the highest elasmobranch landing nations of the world. Experts in global as well as local elasmobranch conservation will participate in the symposium and focus group.