Towards Important Shark and Ray Area (ISRA) Process – Implementation Strategy

A strategy is outlined for the implementation of a global network of Important Shark and Ray Areas – ISRAs – driven by the need to prevent further losses or extinctions to an increasing amount of shark, ray and chimaera species, currently facing increasing pressure from overfishing, habitat loss, and climate change. Implementing the ISRA process is considered a matter of urgency given the rapid degradation in the conservation status of a high proportion of chondrichthyan species (sharks, rays, and chimaeras – hereafter referred to as ‘sharks’), and of the limited and effective place-based protection these species have been benefiting from until now.