The institute ensures the protection of these animals through initiatives such as the citizen science platform Sea Watchers or the Catsharks association.
Sharks and rays -both belonging to the elasmobranch group- are some of the most successful fishes in evolutionary terms due mainly to the absence of other predators in their habitats and thanks to their high phenotypic plasticity, which allows them to adapt to very diverse environments. However, due to the anthropic impact, their populations have decreased dramatically in recent decades, especially in the Mediterranean, considered the most dangerous sea for these animals.
The Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM) ensures the protection of the elasmobranchs through different initiatives such as the citizen science platform Sea watchers or the association Catsharks, which is part of the National Network of Elasmobranchs. This Network was created in 2019 and is made up of people, entities and administrations involved in research, conservation and management of sharks and rays in Spain.
A few days ago, the Network virtually held its Annual Conference, organized this year by the CRAM Foundation in collaboration with Catsharks and Sanamares. During the meeting, which was attended by fishermen and representatives of the administrations with responsibilities in the maritime field and the management of marine resources, among others, the future challenges, citizen science and management measures that should allow the improvement of the conservation status of elasmobranchs in the Mediterranean were discussed. Likewise, the meeting allowed to build bridges between the different marine stakeholders which are expected to contribute to the dissemination, research and conservation of these animals.
Also, during the meeting, the National Network of Elasmobranchs proposed Sea Watchers as the citizen science platform of reference to report the sightings of elasmobranchs in Spanish waters. This collaboration arises from the close relationship between Sea Watchers and Catsharks, focused on encouraging citizens to collect data on sharks and rays, which is currently very scarce and fragmented.
Increasing knowledge about these species is key, as they grow very slowly and reproduce very late, which makes them particularly vulnerable to, for example, overfishing or the destruction of their natural habitats. In fact, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), due largely to these two pressures, almost 50% of chondrichthyan species –wich include sharks and rays- in the Mediterranean are currently threatened with extinction.