Critical habitats for sharks and rays in Asia remain largely unprotected

Adriana, Gonzalez-Pestana and Peter M, Kyne and Emiliano, García-Rodríguez and Ryan, Charles and Vanessa, Bettcher Brito and Asia O, Armstrong and Amanda, Batlle-Morera and Marta D, Palacios and Christoph A, Rohner and Giuseppe, Notarbartolo di Sciara and Jo Marie, V Acebes and Serena, Adam and Ariana S, Agustines and Faqih Akbar, Alghozali and Chethana, L Amadoru and Rohani, Ambo-Rappe and R Aquino, Maria Theresa and Gonzalo, Araujo and Argeswara, Janis and Bella Riskyta, Arinda and Arunrugstichai, Sirachai and Astar, Elisabeth and Auditore, Lisa-Marie and Banerjee, Avik A and Baranowski, Clare M and Barnes, Alissa J and Beale, Calvin S and Beura, Sweta and Blakeway, Jessica-Anne and Cañete, Titus E and Chansue, Nantarika and Chin, Andrew and Chittapisan, Supachok and Chuangcharoendee, Metavee and Fung Chen, Chung and Dilrukshi, Thilini and Dornhege-Lazaroff, Mareike and L Dudgeon, Christine and V Erdmann, Mark and Fahmi and Fahrni Mansur, Elisabeth and Fernando, Daniel and Furumitsu, Keisuke and Flam, Anna L and Gaffar, Syamsidar and Gausmann, Peter and Gobiraj, Ramajeyam and Grant, Michael I and Alifa B, Haque and Hara, Kojiro and Hilbourne, Simon T and Chee Ho, Kooi and Hsun Hsu, Hua and Hutchinson, Neil and Ichida, Nesha K and Jacoby, David M P and Jarugulla, Eswar S and Karnad, Divya and Kinattumkara, Bineesh and Kizhakudan, Shoba Joe and Gokgoz, Alp and Muhammad Wiralaga, Dwi Gustianto and Ko Gyi, Thanda and Lavina and J. Li, Chia-Yun and Liyana, Eurida and Savio Lobo, Aaron and Magson, Kirsty and Manopawitr, Petch and D. McCann, Catherine and McCann, David A and Muktha, M and Mizrahi, Meira and Mohapatra, Anil and Abdullah, Maizah Mohd and Muallil, Richard N and Murray, Ryan and Muttaqin, Efin and Nazareth, Evan M and Neranjan, Anusha and Noor, Raisa and Nugraha, Budi and P Oliver, Simon and Andrey Ong, Sue and Alexei M, Orlov and Payyat, Sharang and Pilcher, Nicolas J and Ponzo, Alessandro and Prehadi and Herwata Putra, Mochamad Iqbal and Vo, Van Quang and Rambahiniarison, Joshua and Remya, L and Reza, Akbar and Roul, Subal Kumar and Dash, Swatipriyanka Sen and Septiani, Citra and B Sianipar, Abraham and Sebastian, Pascal and Setyawan, Edy and Shamsuddoha, Mohammad and Shidqi, Rafid A and M Simeon, Benaya and Som, Sitha and J Stean, Serena and Austin Spiji, Davies and Sutaria, Dipani and Tanna, Akshay and Then, Amy Y H and Thomas, Sujitha and Tolen, Nicholas J and Trebol, Micaela L and Tyabji, Zoya and T. Utzurrum, Jean Asuncion and K Venables, Stephanie and V Volvenko, Igor and Ward-Paige, Christine A and Yamaguchi, Atsuko and Yaptinchay, Arnel and R Yuneni, Ranny and Zhang, Jie and Ziadi-Künzli, Fabienne and A Zubair, Masiat and W Jabado, Rima (2026) Critical habitats for sharks and rays in Asia remain largely unprotected. Biodiversity and Conservation, 35. pp. 1-38. ISSN 1572-9710

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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 km2 (~ 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 < 5% of national waters in 16 jurisdictions (eight with < 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.

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