A new study has identified 122 Important Shark and Ray Areas (ISRAs) across Asia, covering approximately 1 million km², which is only about 3% of the region's waters. These critical habitats are home to 121 species of Chondrichthyans, nearly 76% of which are already threatened with extinction. Despite the significant diversity, only a small fraction of these ISRAs overlap with protected marine areas, leaving most vulnerable to fishing pressure. The research highlights significant data gaps, particularly for deepwater sharks and freshwater rays, due to a reliance on citizen science and tourism-driven observations, leading to a conservation focus on more visible and charismatic species. AI
RANK_REASON New scientific study mapping critical habitats for threatened species. [lever_c_demoted from research: ic=1 ai=0.1]
- Bay of Bengal
- deepwater sharks
- freshwater rays
- guitarfishes
- Indonesia
- Manta
- North West Pacific Ocean
- Philippines
- Southeast Asia
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