The fifth Important Shark and Ray Areas (ISRA) regional expert workshop was held in hybrid mode (in person and online) in Tirana, Albania from 27–29 May 2024. The goal was to identify and delineate three-dimensional and discrete portions of habitat that are critical to the survival of sharks, rays, and chimaeras (hereafter ‘sharks’), and that have the potential to be managed for conservation. The region covered was Polar Waters. This scientific collaboration amongst regional and global experts resulted in the identification of 34 Important Shark and Ray Areas, four candidate ISRA, and 11 Areas of Interest. Identified ISRAs range in size from small areas of 70.42 km² at depths of 50-80 m (North Sea Central Graben in Norway) to very large areas of 100,877 km² (Heard Island & McDonald Islands which spans waters of Australia and France) from 200 to 1,220 m.

© International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Species Survival Commission (SSC) Shark Specialist Group, 2024