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Critical habitats for sharks and rays in Asia remain largely unprotected

Gonzalez-Pestana, Adriana
; 
Kyne, Peter M.
; 
García-Rodríguez, Emiliano
; 
Charles, Ryan
; 
Brito, Vanessa Bettcher
; 
Armstrong, Asia O.
; 
Batlle-Morera, Amanda
; 
Palacios, Marta D.
; 
Rohner, Christoph A.
; 
di Sciara, Giuseppe Notarbartolo
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IUCN Species Survival Commission Shark Specialist Group, UAE; BALYENA.ORG, Philippines; Large Marine Vertebrates Research Institute Philippines; Elasmobranch Project Indonesia; Blue Resources Trust, Sri Lanka; Hasanuddin University; Marine Wildlife Watch of the Philippines; Marine Research and Conservation Foundation, United Kingdom; Qatar University; Marine Megafauna Foundation, USA; IUCN Marine Mammal Protected Areas Task Force, Switzerland; Yayasan Megafauna Laut, Indonesia; YAPEKA, Indonesia; Thai Sharks and Rays, Thailand; Wildlife Conservation Society India; The Manta Trust, Dorset; Murdoch University; Raja Ampat Manta Project, Indonesia; Zoological Survey of India; University of the Sunshine Coast; Earth Agenda Foundation, Thailand; Chulalongkorn University; James Cook University, Australia; WildAid, Thailand; Universiti Malaysia Sabah; Okinawa Coastal Protection Alliance, Japan; Biopixel Oceans Foundation, Australia; ReShark, New Zealand; Re:wild, USA; Research Center for Oceanography, Indonesia; Nagasaki University; Borneo Tarakan University; Ruhr University Bochum; Deutsche Elasmobranchier Gesellschaft, Germany; University of Dhaka; Bengal Elasmo Lab, Bangladesh; S-Pool Blue Dot Green, Japan; Marine Research Foundation, Malaysia; Fisheries Research Institute, Taiwan; Universiti Malaysia Terengganu; Thrive Conservation, Indonesia; Lancaster University; Ashoka University; University of Exeter; Zoological Survey of India; ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, India; University of Chester; Thresher Shark Research and Conservation Project, Philippines; World Wide Fund for Nature, Indonesia; Myanmar Ocean Project; Fisheries Research Institute, Taiwan; Georgia Aquarium—Atlanta, USA; Ghent University; New Heaven Reef Conservation Program, Thailand; Thai Whale Sharks, Thailand; Department of Marine & Coastal Resources, Thailand; The Sea Collective, Ireland; Wildlife Conservation Society—Southeast Asia Pacific, USA; Mindanao State University—Tawi-Tawi College of Technology and Oceanography, Philippines; Met Eireann, Ireland; Rekam Nusantara Foundation, Indonesia; Nature Conservation Foundation, Mysore, India; Research Center for Fishery, Indonesia; Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russia; A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia; Tomsk State University; Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, Indonesia; Konservasi Indonesia, Indonesia; Institute of Oceanography, VAST, Vietnam; Coastal Oceans Research and Development in the Indian Ocean, Kenya; ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, India; Gadjah Mada University; World Resources Institute- Indonesia, Indonesia; Indo Ocean Foundation, Indonesia; Jahangirnagar University; Duke University; Thresher Shark Indonesia; Charles Darwin University, Australia; Rekam Nusantara Foundation, Indonesia; Wildlife Conservation Society Cambodia; Mississippi State University; Dakshin Foundation, India; University of Malaya; Philippine Reef and Rainforest Conservation Foundation, Inc.; Dalhousie University; Silliman University; eOceans, Canada; Chinese Academy of Sciences, China; Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, Japan; Bengal Elasmo Lab, Bangladesh; Elasmo Project, United Arab Emirates
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2026-05-29
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Natural Sciences
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Abstract
The Asia region harbors exceptional chondrichthyan (shark, ray, and chimaera) diversity but faces intense fishing pressure. The Important Shark and Ray Area (ISRA) process provides a collaborative, evidence-based framework to identify critical habitats and inform spatial management. We assessed ISRAs across the Bay of Bengal, Southeast Asia, and the Northwest Pacific to characterize their extent, ecological significance, and conservation relevance. We delineated 122 ISRAs spanning ~ 1 million km<jats:sup>2</jats:sup>(~ 3% of the region) across 12 jurisdictions and international waters, encompassing habitats for 121 species (~ 30% of Asia’s chondrichthyans), 76% of which are threatened. Depleted taxa (e.g., giant guitarfishes, Glaucostegidae) were represented, but charismatic megafauna (e.g., Whale Shark Rhincodon typus) were overrepresented. In contrast, deepwater and freshwater species were underrepresented. Reproductive Areas were the most common ISRA sub-criterion applied (52% of ISRAs), largely in nearshore zones, while areas for range-restricted species were less frequently (18%) identified. Twelve ISRAs overlapped with biodiversity hotspots, including seven in areas of high overall chondrichthyan species richness and five in areas of high range-restricted species richness. Citizen science was the predominant research method used to delineate ISRAs, while fisheries data were underused despite the region’s major fisheries footprint. Geographic coverage was uneven: Indonesia held the most ISRAs (n = 40; 71.7% of ISRA coverage) while eight jurisdictions (e.g., Viet Nam, China, Republic of Korea) lacked ISRAs due to data gaps. Protection shortfalls are stark: MPAs cover &lt; 5% of national waters in 16 jurisdictions (eight with &lt; 1%); 5.4% of ISRA area lies within MPAs; and only 2.8% of ISRA spatial extent overlaps with no-take zones. These results provide a regional foundation to guide spatial planning, prioritize management, close data gaps, and support recovery of Asia’s diverse and imperiled chondrichthyan assemblages.
Citation
Gonzalez-Pestana, A., Kyne, P. M., García-Rodríguez, E., Charles, R., Brito, V. B., Armstrong, A. O., Batlle-Morera, A., Palacios, M. D., Rohner, C. A., di Sciara, G. N., Acebes, J. M. V., Adam, S., Agustines, A. S., Alghozali, F. A., Amadoru, C. L., Ambo-Rappe, R., Aquino, M. T. R., Araujo, G., Argeswara, J., … Jabado, R. W. (2026). Critical habitats for sharks and rays in Asia remain largely unprotected. Biodiversity and conservation, 35(7), article-number 179. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-026-03356-2
Publisher
Springer
Journal
Biodiversity and Conservation
Research Unit
URI
https://chesterrep.openrepository.com/handle/10034/630009
DOI
10.1007/s10531-026-03356-2
PubMed ID
PubMed Central ID
Type
Article
Language
en
Description
Copyright © 2026, The Author(s) The version of record of this article, first published in [Biodiversity and Conservation], is available online at Publisher’s website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10531-026-03356-2
Series/Report no.
ISSN
0960-3115
EISSN
1572-9710
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Open Access funding enabled and organized by CAUL and its Member Institutions. This work was supported by the Shark Conservation Fund.
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https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10531-026-03356-2
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