IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group (SSG)

RELEASING JAMES, JILL & ETHAN 🎉 Hooray for yet another successful release week at Kri Island! James, Jill, and Ethan, who hatched and grew up at our RARCC nursery, were finally released last week! We were thrilled to have the Raja Ampat MPA Management Authority join us for post-release monitoring. Once again, we extend our deepest gratitude to our invaluable partners and supporters who made these releases possible: Kementerian Kelautan dan Perikanan Republik Indonesia, Badan Riset dan Inovasi Nasional RI (BRIN RI), the West Papua Provincial Government, the Southwest Papua Provincial Government, BRIDA Papua Barat, Raja Ampat MPA Management Authority, RARCC, Papua Diving Resorts - Sorido Bay Resort | Kri Eco Resort, Thrive Conservation, Conservation International, Konservasi Indonesia, Ocean Park Conservation Foundation, Hong Kong, Rumah Group & Foundation, and, of course, the wonderful sponsors of the three sharks — Seren and Samantha Bass (James), Jill Warnick (Jill), and Shannon Wong (Ethan). Photos by Mark Erdmann #ReShark #StARProject #LeopardShark #SharkEgg #ZebraShark #Ocean #Conservation #Shark #Rewilding #Indonesia

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📢 New Publication Alert! A technical brief on important marine areas has just been released at the 2024 United Nations Biodiversity Conference of the Parties (CoP 16) of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Cali, Colombia. Parties, heads of states, representatives from non-governmental organizations, and other conference delegates can now learn more about area-based conservation approaches including Important Shark and Ray Areas (ISRAs), Ecologically and Biologically Significant Marine Areas (EBSAs), Important Marine Mammal Areas (IMMAs), Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs), and the upcoming Important Marine Mammal Areas (IMTAs). Information included covers how each approach can contribute to conservation planning while considering targets under the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Read the full technical brief here: https://lnkd.in/eSySjWmU #PeaceWithNature, #COP16, #COP16Columbia, #Biodiversity, #NatureForLife, #ProtectNature #WeAreSSC #SpeciesSurvival #ConservationPartners #SSCleaders #ConservationImpact #VolunteerNetwork #SSCPublications #ConservationWorks Shark Conservation Fund (SCF) Save Our Seas Foundation (SOSF) Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA)

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The 5th IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) Leaders' Meeting concluded in Abu Dhabi with conservation experts and leaders issuing a powerful declaration affirming that “Saving Species Sustains Life." The meeting was held in parallel with the Convention on Biological Diversity Conference of Parties 16 in Cali, Colombia where Parties are discussing the future of species. This declaration issued by SSC members and partners conveys the critical role of species in ensuring clean water, food security, cultural connections, economic stability, and social justice. It calls on diverse sectors to prioritise species conservation within their actions, strategies, and giving, recognising that protecting animals, fungi, and plants is fundamental to sustaining life on Earth. "Saving Species Sustains Life. We know how to save species and we have proved that conservation works. SSC has doubled its actions since our 2019 Abu Dhabi Call for Global Species Conservation Action, even as threats continue to emerge and accelerate. The world has already committed to the Sustainable Development Goals, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the Paris Agreement. Saving species is fundamental to achieving these commitments." Read the full press release here with a quote from the IUCN President: https://lnkd.in/ebczsmMF Read the declaration: https://lnkd.in/e9JsehUS #PeaceWithNature, #COP16, #COP16Columbia, #Biodiversity, #NatureForLife, #protectnature #SSCLeadersMeeting2024 #WeAreSSC #SpeciesSurvival #ConservationPartners #SSCleaders #ConservationImpact #VolunteerNetwork #SSCPublications #ConservationWorks

https://lnkd.in/ePZFZCP9

Everyone - it's Ghost Shark Day today! 👻🦈🥳 Frankly, the timing of the Day this year is spot on. Not only is it Halloween tomorrow, but just last month, a new species of ghost shark, aka chimaera, was identified by researchers! Like all ghost sharks, the Australasian narrow-nosed spookfish (as our new friend is called) isn't actually a shark, but they are related. As far as we know, the last common ancestor between sharks and ghost sharks lived around 400 million years ago! Dr Brit Finucci, the scientist who described the Australasian narrow-nosed spookfish, gave the species the scientific name "Harriotta avia." “Avia means grandmother in Latin; I wanted to give this nod to her because she proudly supported me through my career as a scientist. Chimaeras are also rather ancient relatives – the grandmas and grandpas – of fish and I thought the name was well suited,” Brit explained in a press release. Learn more about this new discovery 👇  https://lnkd.in/gg3NVcwy

Happy International Ghost Shark Day from the IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group! Our team and partners work to understand, protect, and assess the conservation status sharks, rays, and chimaeras ("ghost sharks"), using the best available scientific data. There are 55 confirmed species of chimaeras around the world. Thirty-seven (67.3%) of these have been assessed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The remaining species are Vulnerable (n=4), Near Threatened (n=4), and Data Deficient (n =10). Learn more about ghost shark conservation: https://lnkd.in/gHCJRu9x Learn more about us and our work: https://lnkd.in/g69sRXud #InternationalGhostSharkDay #WeareSSC #ConservationImpact #VolunteerNetwork #Shark #Ray #Chimaera #Chondrichthyan #Conservation #Ocean IUCN IUCN Species Survival Commission Re:wild Save Our Seas Foundation (SOSF)

🚨 New Paper Alert 🚨 "First Description of Leucism in the Deep-Sea Angular Rough Shark (Oxynotus centrina) and the First Documented Pigment Disorder in the Family Oxynotidae" Pigment disorders are exceptionally rare among elasmobranchs, observed in less than 5% of known species, with only 14 cases documented among deep-sea species. In this paper, we present the first-ever case of leucism in the angular rough shark, as well as the first reported pigment disorder in the entire Oxynotidae family. I'm thrilled to announce that this publication emerged from the #internship program at #SharklabADRIA and two master's theses I supervised at Ghent University (IMBRSea Erasmus +). Well-deserved Emilie De Loose, Andrea García Martín and Elias Neuman! Moreover, our systematic research of deep-sea sharks is generously funded by: The Explorers Club, Discovery Channel and The Rufford Foundation Enjoy reading: https://lnkd.in/dY5Vqgch (Feel free to DM me if you'd like a PDF version) #shark #deepsea #explore #research #disorder #elasmobranchs

The latest update of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species now includes assessments of 1,253 species of sharks and their relatives. Learn more about us and the work we do: https://lnkd.in/g69sRXud #WeAreSSC #SpeciesSurvival #ConservationPartners #SSCleaders #ConservationImpact #VolunteerNetwork #SSCPublications #ConservationWorks IUCN Save Our Seas Foundation (SOSF) The Shark Trust