About 2/3 of sharks and rays are at risk of extinction from coral reefs

Almost two-thirds of coral reef shark and shark species are at risk of extinction, with overfishing cited as the biggest threat, according to a new study.

The study looked at species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List of Endangered Species.

The researchers studied 134 species of sharks and sharks and say the findings point to the need for immediate conservation action on coral reefs.

This entails establishing legal protection, managing and enforcing fisheries more effectively and creating more marine protected areas.

As a result of climate change, coral reefs have now become some of the most fragile ecosystems in the world.

In the study, published in Nature Communications, researchers from Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, led by Dr. Samantha Sherman, said the population decline has been occurring for more than half a century, with the largest decline before 2005.

At the same time, immediate action is required through site-specific protection, combined with large-scale fisheries management and the establishment of marine protected areas, to avoid extinctions and loss of critical ecosystem function that condemns reefs to a reduction in the biodiversity of sharks, rays and ecosystem characteristics, limiting livelihoods and food security.

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