IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group
IUCN COMMISSION GROUP

IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group

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Overview and description

Description:
An estimated 37% of sharks, rays, and chimaeras are threatened with extinction according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Our mission is to secure the conservation, management and, where ...
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An estimated 37% of sharks, rays, and chimaeras are threatened with extinction according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Our mission is to secure the conservation, management and, where necessary, the recovery of the world’s sharks, rays, and chimaeras by mobilizing technical and scientific expertise to provide the knowledge that enables action.

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Group leadership

Dr Rima JABADO
Chair

Deputy Chair

Dr Rima Jabado is the Deputy Chair of the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) and Chair of the IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group. As a scientist and conservationist, she has spent over 20 years developing and working on conservation initiatives globally. Her work focuses on bridging the gap between science and policy to ensure issues such as bycatch, threatened species conservation, and illegal trade are tackled. Her research has been instrumental in influencing decision makers to implement meaningful measures for the protection of species across a range of fisheries. She is now leading the Important Shark and Ray Areas (ISRA) project to ensure sharks, rays, and chimaeras are considered in area-based management initiatives around the world. She is a member of the IUCN Marine Conservation Committee, serves as the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) Appointed Scientific Councilor for Fish, and sits on the Advisory Committee for the CMS Sharks Memorandum of Understanding as the representative of the Asia region. She has also founded the Elasmo Project, a non-profit initiative that encourages and supports work in data-poor areas focused on investigating shark and ray fisheries and trade.

Deputy Chair

Dr Rima Jabado is the Deputy Chair of the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) and Chair of the IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group. As a scientist and conservationist, she has spent ...

Dr Cassandra RIGBY
Red List Authority Coordinator
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Reassessed all chondrichthyans for the Red List of Threatened Species as part of the Global Shark Trends. Running workshops for WWF on Guidelines to improve conservation and management of sharks in Marine Protected Areas. Producing the Ray Report Card for Australia.
Reassessed all chondrichthyans for the Red List of Threatened Species as part of the Global Shark Trends. Running workshops for WWF on Guidelines to improve conservation and management of sharks in ...
Dr Brit FINUCCI
Red List Authority Coordinator

More about the Specialist Group

​The IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group (SSG) was established by the Species Survival Commission in 1991 in response to growing awareness and concern about the severe impact of fisheries on shark, ray, and chimaera (hereafter ‘sharks’) populations around the world. The SSG is now recognised as the leading authority on the status of these species and has recently finished assessing the status of all known species. Central to this process has been the knowledge and ...

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More about the Specialist Group

​The IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group (SSG) was established by the Species Survival Commission in 1991 in response to growing awareness and concern about the severe impact of fisheries on shark, ray, and chimaera (hereafter ‘sharks’) populations around the world. The SSG is now recognised as the leading authority on the status of these species and has recently finished assessing the status of all known species. Central to this process has been the knowledge and expertise shared by its members. The SSG is now moving forward to ensure that this knowledge converts into plans and interventions that lead into conservation action for priority species groups.

Guiding Principles

The SSG has long been a trusted source of science-based information and advice on sharks. This solid reputation has been built on widespread interest in the IUCN Red List as a means of identifying and prioritising species at risk, monitoring threats, and evaluating conservation action. Our work continues to centre on finding expert consensus as to the global status of species, and is guided by the following principles:

  • Sharks, rays and chimaeras have ecological, economic, and cultural value;
  • Policies regarding these species should be founded on sound science;
  • Fishing and other forms of exploitation should be managed for sustainability;
  • Minimising waste is important, particularly given declining food security;
  • Communicating the outcomes of SSG initiatives to policy-makers, non-governmental organizations, and the public can lead to improvements in the population status of sharks.

Core Activities

  • Continual assessment and reassessment of their IUCN Red List status;
  • Development of prioritized, science-based advice for conservation strategies and policies;
  • Regular communication of findings to a broad range of audiences;
  • Evaluation of the impact of policy developments; and,
  • Identification and prioritization of key knowledge gaps and research needs.
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The SSG focuses on assessing the extinction risk of species, developing conservation strategies and action plans for the most threatened species, and delineating Important Shark and Ray Areas (ISRAs). These priorities ensure we understand the status of species, inform policy, and identify research gaps.

Specialist Group work

Delineate Important Shark and Ray Areas (ISRAs)

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Implement a systematic place-based approach to throughout ranges of sharks, rays, and chimaeras.

Conservation Planning for Threatened Species

Collect information to lead to responsible management, policy development, and research priorities.

SSG on the IUCN Red List

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The SSG is the global Red List Authority for sharks, rays, and chimaeras.

SSG Annual Reports

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Projects of the Specialist Group

The SSG works on a number of global and regional programs to achieve its vision of ‘a world where sharks, rays, and chimaeras are valued and managed sustainably.’

  1. Important Shark and Ray Areas (ISRAs): The aim of the ISRA project is to mobilise scientists and conservationists to ensure the ranges of all known shark, ray, and chimaera species are globally investigated, so that ISRAs are identified within such ranges and mapped, and to provide decision-makers and other relevant stakeholders with actionable knowledge necessary for the implementation of adequate systematic place-based conservation.
  2. Global Status Report for sharks, rays, and chimaeras: The project will consolidate all available information on sharks, rays, and chimaeras to identify areas of scientific knowledge and policy needed to ensure shark’s long-term conservation and management. This will be an update to the existing publication by Fowler et al. (2005) on sharks’ global status and will form the basis of a comprehensive resource documenting progress in data collection, fisheries management, as well as changes in the characteristics of the products, trade, and economics of exploitation.

Chimaera monstrosa. Photo by Justine Siegwald

Photo: Justine Siegwald

Southern Stingray, St. Lucia. Photo by Gregory Piper/Ocean Image Bank.

Photo: Gregory Piper/Ocean Image Bank

Tassled Wobbegong shark. Photo by Fabrice Dudenhofer/Ocean Image Bank.

Photo: Fabrice Dudenhofer/Ocean Image Bank

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