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		<title>Conservation news</title>
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		<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/bycatch/</link>
		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Thu, 13 Aug 2026 16:42:44 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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	<url>https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/05/16160320/cropped-mongabay_icon-32x32.png</url>
	<title>News on Bycatch</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/bycatch/</link>
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				<item>
					<title> Seeking swordfish, catching dolphins and whales: EU pushes to rein in driftnets</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/seeking-swordfish-catching-dolphins-and-whales-eu-pushes-to-rein-in-driftnets/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/seeking-swordfish-catching-dolphins-and-whales-eu-pushes-to-rein-in-driftnets/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Jul 2026 20:24:33 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Victoria Schneider]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Autumn Spanne]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/08160916/a.-BANNER-GP0156K-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=322913</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, European Union, Mediterranean Sea, Morocco, and Spain]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Bycatch, Cetaceans, Dolphins, Elasmobranchs, Fisheries, Fishing, Food, Illegal Fishing, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Marine Mammals, Oceans, Sharks, Tuna, and Whales]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Driftnets, vertically hanging nets that drift with ocean currents and can stretch for kilometers, are used to catch large pelagic species such as swordfish and tuna. However, they have long drawn criticism from conservationists as they also capture and kill sharks, turtles, dolphins and other marine wildlife. For decades, debate has raged about use of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Driftnets, vertically hanging nets that drift with ocean currents and can stretch for kilometers, are used to catch large pelagic species such as swordfish and tuna. However, they have long drawn criticism from conservationists as they also capture and kill sharks, turtles, dolphins and other marine wildlife. For decades, debate has raged about use of the large nets. It’s a particularly contentious issue in the Mediterranean Sea, an important migration corridor that faces considerable pressure from overfishing, pollution and climate change. Now, international efforts to tighten legislation on driftnets in the Mediterranean have gained new momentum as member states of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) consider a proposal aimed at closing loopholes in existing rules. ICCAT is the world’s largest regional fisheries management organization, managing the stocks of highly migratory species, including tuna, swordfish (Xiphias gladius) and some shark species across the Atlantic Ocean and adjacent seas. At ICCAT’s technical meetings held in Brussels in June, the European Union presented a proposal (see IMM_09_ENG.docx in link) that seeks to strengthen current driftnet rules. Fishers haul an illegal driftnet in international waters west of Marettimo Island, near Sicily. Image © Gavin Parsons/Greenpeace. The EU proposal would establish clearer definitions for driftnets, prohibit their possession on vessels that target certain species, and extend restrictions beyond the Mediterranean to parts of the Atlantic Ocean. “The EU has the clear ambition to push for the adoption of this measure at this year’s annual meeting of ICCAT (in November),” an&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/seeking-swordfish-catching-dolphins-and-whales-eu-pushes-to-rein-in-driftnets/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/seeking-swordfish-catching-dolphins-and-whales-eu-pushes-to-rein-in-driftnets/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-322913</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Asia&#8217;s shark and ray hotspots remain poorly protected, study finds</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/asias-shark-and-ray-hotspots-remain-poorly-protected-study-finds/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/asias-shark-and-ray-hotspots-remain-poorly-protected-study-finds/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Jun 2026 03:52:37 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Malaka Rodrigo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Dilrukshi Handunnetti]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/25201215/1-A-famiky-of-Critically-Endangered-Winghead-Hammerhead-sharks-and-a-threatened-Eagle-ray-died-due-to-fisheries-in-Baththalangunduwa-ISRA-c-BRT-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=321855</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Global, and Sri Lanka]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Bycatch, Conservation Solutions, Environmental Policy, Extinction, Fish, Fisheries, Gillnets, Illegal Fishing, Marine Animals, Marine Protected Areas, Overfishing, Protected Areas, Rays, shark finning, Sharks, and Species]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[COLOMBO — The majority of 122 marine areas identified across Asia as critical for the survival of sharks, rays and chimaeras remain largely unprotected despite supporting some of the world’s most threatened marine species, according to a new study. Published in Biodiversity and Conservation, the study assessed the network of important shark and ray areas [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[COLOMBO — The majority of 122 marine areas identified across Asia as critical for the survival of sharks, rays and chimaeras remain largely unprotected despite supporting some of the world’s most threatened marine species, according to a new study. Published in Biodiversity and Conservation, the study assessed the network of important shark and ray areas (ISRAs) across 19 Asian countries and territories and found that only 5.4% of their total area overlaps with recognized marine protected areas (MPAs). Just 2.8% falls within fully protected no-take zones where extractive activities are strictly prohibited. Critically endangered sharpnose guitarfish landed from the Palk Bay ISRA are recorded in a fish market in the village of Mathagal, Sri Lanka&#8217;s Jaffna district. Fish markets and landing sites are valuable points for fisheries data collection and monitoring. Image courtesy of Blue Resources Trust. Together, these ISRAs cover more than 1 million square kilometers (approximately 386,102 square miles) of ocean and support sharks, rays and chimaeras, also known by the umbrella term elasmobranchs. Nearly three-quarters of these species are listed as threatened with extinction on the IUCN red list, highlighting the urgency of conserving these habitats, said study lead author Adriana Gonzalez-Pestana, a Ph.D. candidate at Charles Darwin University (CDU) in Australia and member of the IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group ISRA project. IUCN is the global wildlife conservation authority. Critically endangered stripenose guitarfish caught within the Pasikuda &amp; Kalkuda ISRA in Sri Lanka&#8217;s east and being sold at a local fishery. Image courtesy of Blue Resources&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/asias-shark-and-ray-hotspots-remain-poorly-protected-study-finds/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/asias-shark-and-ray-hotspots-remain-poorly-protected-study-finds/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321855</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Half of seabirds are declining. Protecting marine flyways could help save them</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/half-of-seabirds-are-declining-protecting-marine-flyways-could-help-save-them/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/half-of-seabirds-are-declining-protecting-marine-flyways-could-help-save-them/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Apr 2026 01:00:42 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/09230341/galapagos_2414294z-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317300</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Founder's briefs]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birds, Bycatch, Climate Change, Conservation, Endangered Species, Islands, Marine, Marine Animals, Migration, Oceans, and Seabirds]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[&#160; Animals that cross borders often encounter conservation systems that stop at them. Migratory species move through jurisdictions with little regard for political boundaries, relying on habitats spread across large distances and governed by different rules. The result is patchy protection, overlapping threats, and declining populations. Seabirds make this problem clear. They range across entire [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[&nbsp; Animals that cross borders often encounter conservation systems that stop at them. Migratory species move through jurisdictions with little regard for political boundaries, relying on habitats spread across large distances and governed by different rules. The result is patchy protection, overlapping threats, and declining populations. Seabirds make this problem clear. They range across entire ocean basins, breeding on remote islands, feeding in distant waters, and passing through multiple national zones along the way. Nearly half of migratory species are in decline, and seabirds are among the most threatened groups. Their conservation requires coordination across places and seasons, which has been difficult to sustain. On land, one organizing idea has helped. The concept of “flyways” groups migration into broad, recurring routes. It has been used to align governments, focus research, and guide investment. Over time, it has helped coordinate conservation efforts, especially for waterbirds. A policy paper, published last month in the British Ecological Society’s Journal of Applied Ecology, applies the same framework to the ocean. Overlap of the marine flyways and national waters (Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) in dark blue lines). Purple colored national waters denote CMS Parties and green represent Non-­ Party states. Maps are in Robinson projection, with (a) centered at 0° and (b) centered at 140° W. From Morten et al (2026) Recent advances in tracking have made this possible. By analyzing the movements of long-distance pelagic species, a team of researchers from BirdLife International, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), and multiple&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/half-of-seabirds-are-declining-protecting-marine-flyways-could-help-save-them/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/half-of-seabirds-are-declining-protecting-marine-flyways-could-help-save-them/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-317300</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Investigation of permit violations in South Africa’s shark fishery pending</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/investigation-of-permit-violations-in-south-africas-shark-fishery-pending/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/investigation-of-permit-violations-in-south-africas-shark-fishery-pending/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Mar 2026 12:54:13 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Victoria Schneider]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/10/16204522/Adobe-Express-file-16-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=316361</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, South Africa, and Southern Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Bycatch, Elasmobranchs, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Policy, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Food, Governance, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Overfishing, Rays, Sharks, Wildlife, and Wildlife Trade]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Following an October 2025 Mongabay report of the shark fishing vessel Zanette violating the conditions of its permit to catch endangered sharks, the South African Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) announced that it would consider suspending or revoking the permit. The Zanette mainly fishes for smoothhound sharks (Mustelus mustelus) and soupfin sharks [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Following an October 2025 Mongabay report of the shark fishing vessel Zanette violating the conditions of its permit to catch endangered sharks, the South African Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) announced that it would consider suspending or revoking the permit. The Zanette mainly fishes for smoothhound sharks (Mustelus mustelus) and soupfin sharks (Galeorhinus galeus), two species that are listed as endangered and critically endangered, respectively, on the IUCN Red List. Both species have suffered steep declines in South Africa and worldwide due to overfishing. In November 2025, both were added to Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, restricting their international trade. “The health of our oceans depends on the rule of law being upheld at sea,” former Fisheries Minister Dion George said in the statement, stressing that enforcing the law is a prerequisite for protecting the country’s marine ecosystems as well as coastal communities. The Zanette’s crew catching a shark below the minimum length of 70 centimeters (27.5 inches). Image courtesy of Enrico Gennari. In June 2025, the DFFE fined the shark longliner Zanette 2,500 rand, the equivalent of $145, after its crew was observed cutting off the heads and fins of sharks at sea, a contravention to the strict regulations of its permit conditions. Marine biologist Enrico Gennari took photos of the incident and alerted the fisheries department. Gennari also documented the vessel catching sharks outside the required size limits and failing to correctly deploy bird scaring lines. In his report,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/investigation-of-permit-violations-in-south-africas-shark-fishery-pending/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/investigation-of-permit-violations-in-south-africas-shark-fishery-pending/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-316361</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>25 years after ‘disaster’ declaration, major U.S. fishery makes a comeback</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/25-years-after-disaster-declaration-major-u-s-fishery-makes-a-comeback/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/25-years-after-disaster-declaration-major-u-s-fishery-makes-a-comeback/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>05 Mar 2026 19:01:44 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jules Struck]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/05173540/53012320328_74d1dd9457_k-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315179</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[North America, Pacific Northwest, Pacific Ocean, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Bycatch, Conservation, Ecosystems, Environment, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Global Environmental Crisis, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Overfishing, Regulations, Saltwater Fish, Sustainability, Water, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[PORT ORFORD, Oregon, U.S. — Aaron Longton reached down into the rinsing sink in his garage-turned-fish-processing facility on the Oregon coast and hoisted a redbanded rockfish by its fat bottom lip. The homely fish was next in line for the dressing table, where Brian Morrissey, Longton’s “cutter-in-chief,” would deftly slice it into neat fillets, setting [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[PORT ORFORD, Oregon, U.S. — Aaron Longton reached down into the rinsing sink in his garage-turned-fish-processing facility on the Oregon coast and hoisted a redbanded rockfish by its fat bottom lip. The homely fish was next in line for the dressing table, where Brian Morrissey, Longton’s “cutter-in-chief,” would deftly slice it into neat fillets, setting aside its guts and bones for crabbing chum. Morrisey had about 250 kilograms (550 pounds) of the rockfish (Sebastes babcocki) to get through that day, and 90 kg (200 lbs) of lingcod (Ophiodon elongatus), he said, his knife unzipping yet another fish. An unthinkable abundance only 20 years ago. “These fish were really severely limited to us,” said Longton, founder of Port Orford Sustainable Seafood, a company that sells fish via a subscription program. “Now, we have huge quotas.” Redbanded rockfish (Sebastes babcocki), one of the groundfish species whose stock has been rebuilt on the U.S. West Coast, being processed at Port Orford Sustainable Seafood. Image by Jules Struck for Mongabay. The groundfish Longton hauls to his processing room from the pier down the street are the spoils of a painstakingly rebuilt industry. Twenty-six years ago, the West Coast groundfish industry, which encompasses more than 90 species of bottom-dwelling fish off Washington, Oregon and California, had overfished itself to near devastation. In response, fisheries authorities closed vast tracts of the ocean to trawling and slashed fishing quotas, throwing many fishers into painful retirement. But in the aftermath, an unlikely corps materialized of fishers, scientists, conservationists&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/25-years-after-disaster-declaration-major-u-s-fishery-makes-a-comeback/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/25-years-after-disaster-declaration-major-u-s-fishery-makes-a-comeback/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-315179</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>It’s electric: Scientists develop cheap way to keep sharks off fishing hooks</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/its-electric-scientists-develop-cheap-way-to-keep-sharks-off-fishing-hooks/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/its-electric-scientists-develop-cheap-way-to-keep-sharks-off-fishing-hooks/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Feb 2026 19:08:13 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Edward Carver]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/02/21001601/4-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=314596</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Florida, North America, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Bycatch, Conservation, Energy, Environment, Fisheries, Fishing, Marine, Marine Animals, Oceans, Research, Sharks, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Unintentional catch is a big reason that more than a hundred shark species are threatened with extinction. Yet creating a small electric field around fishing hooks using cheap inputs — zinc and graphite — is enough to keep many away, a new study indicates. In coastal waters off Florida, small zinc-and-graphite blocks rigged next to [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Unintentional catch is a big reason that more than a hundred shark species are threatened with extinction. Yet creating a small electric field around fishing hooks using cheap inputs — zinc and graphite — is enough to keep many away, a new study indicates. In coastal waters off Florida, small zinc-and-graphite blocks rigged next to fishing hooks reduced shark catch by around two-thirds, according to the study, which was published in the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences on Jan. 15. “This study was part of an effort to reduce the number of sharks that are caught and killed as incidental bycatch in commercial fisheries,” Stephen Kajiura, a professor of biological sciences at Florida Atlantic University and lead author of the study, told Mongabay. “We&#8217;re trying to develop a method that will be cheap and effective that the fishermen could use, that would keep the sharks off the hooks but still allow them to catch their target species.” “It&#8217;s no good if it impedes the fisherman&#8217;s ability to get what they want,” he added. “And that&#8217;s the cool thing about this type of repellent … it only repels sharks and not anything else.” A skipper pulls up longlines after catching a large number of piked dogfish (Squalus acanthias) in waters off Chatham, Massachusetts, in 2009. Unlike other shark species, piked dogfish weren’t deterred by an electric field created around fishing hooks, a new study shows. Image by AP Photo/Stephan Savoia. Sharks and related species are especially electrosensitive. Researchers have&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/its-electric-scientists-develop-cheap-way-to-keep-sharks-off-fishing-hooks/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/its-electric-scientists-develop-cheap-way-to-keep-sharks-off-fishing-hooks/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-314596</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>South African sharks threatened by fisheries, weak enforcement</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/south-african-sharks-threatened-by-fisheries-weak-enforcement/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/south-african-sharks-threatened-by-fisheries-weak-enforcement/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Oct 2025 14:41:57 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Victoria Schneider]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/10/16205418/ZanetteHeadsNFins_MosselBaySouthAfrica_EnricoGennari-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=307844</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, South Africa, and Southern Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Bycatch, Elasmobranchs, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Policy, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Food, Governance, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Overfishing, Rays, Sharks, Wildlife, and Wildlife Trade]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Gqeberha, SOUTH AFRICA — On June 17, marine biologist Enrico Gennari and a group of students set out into the water in South Africa’s Mossel Bay. They were planning to use baited remote underwater video cameras to monitor fish populations near the modest port, when they spotted the bright yellow and orange hull of the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Gqeberha, SOUTH AFRICA — On June 17, marine biologist Enrico Gennari and a group of students set out into the water in South Africa’s Mossel Bay. They were planning to use baited remote underwater video cameras to monitor fish populations near the modest port, when they spotted the bright yellow and orange hull of the Zanette, a shark longline vessel. The Zanette is a special boat: It is the only vessel currently licensed to catch sharks in South African waters, under a permit registered to a Gqeberha-based company, Fisherman Fresh. The Zanette’s permit allows its skipper Marius Verwey to catch skates, rays and five shark species. Gennari and his colleagues approached within 50 meters (164 feet) of the 12-m (39-ft) shark-fishing vessel; they could immediately see that its crew had failed to properly deploy the mandatory tori lines, which prevent seabirds from getting caught on the hooks set out for sharks. They also watched the crew processing their catch on board. Photographs and drone footage taken by Gennari and a colleague show bins filled with shark heads and fins on the Zanette’s decks. According to regulations, fishers are required to land sharks complete with their heads and fins to allow inspectors to verify that no protected species have been caught, as well as check that no sharks smaller than 70 centimeters (27.5 inches) — juveniles — or larger than 130 cm (51 in) — to protect larger, breeding-age females — have been taken. Gennari, director of Oceans Research, a company that&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/south-african-sharks-threatened-by-fisheries-weak-enforcement/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/south-african-sharks-threatened-by-fisheries-weak-enforcement/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-307844</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indonesia falls short in bid to increase its share of southern bluefin tuna catch</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/indonesia-falls-short-in-bid-to-increase-its-share-of-southern-bluefin-tuna-catch/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/indonesia-falls-short-in-bid-to-increase-its-share-of-southern-bluefin-tuna-catch/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Oct 2025 16:13:58 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Edward Carver]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Morgan Erickson-Davis]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Food systems]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/10/16080810/bluefin-tune-australia-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=307759</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indian Ocean, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birds, Bycatch, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Policy, Fisheries, Fishing, Food, Food Industry, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Overconsumption, Overfishing, Regulations, Seabirds, Tuna, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Australia and Japan dominate fishing of southern bluefin tuna, but Indonesia is pushing for a larger share of the global catch. However, its request was not officially acted on at a meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT), the multilateral body that manages the stock, which Indonesia hosted from Oct. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Australia and Japan dominate fishing of southern bluefin tuna, but Indonesia is pushing for a larger share of the global catch. However, its request was not officially acted on at a meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT), the multilateral body that manages the stock, which Indonesia hosted from Oct. 6-9 on the island of Bali. CCSBT members instead kept each nation’s share unchanged. Indonesia expressed disappointment in the result, having argued that the allotment system is inequitable and unfair to developing countries. “Indonesia views that the current allocation system has not paid due regard to the principles of equity and fairness in international law, which the preamble of the CCSBT Convention emphasizes,” Sakti Wahyu Trenggono, Indonesia’s fisheries minister, said in a statement at the meeting, according to the meeting’s official report viewed by Mongabay. Indonesia’s fleet has been cited for compliance-related issues — not following the fishery’s rules — which other parties raised as an issue in the discussion over the country’s share. While much attention at the meeting was on Indonesia’s request, the parties also dealt with other matters. They kept the total allowable catch (TAC) for all parties the same for 2026 as 2025, and they agreed to once again fully fund a key stock monitoring program. They also set up a future meeting for discussion of seabird protection in the fishery. There are more than a dozen regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs) in the world, with some overlapping geographically but managing&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/indonesia-falls-short-in-bid-to-increase-its-share-of-southern-bluefin-tuna-catch/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/indonesia-falls-short-in-bid-to-increase-its-share-of-southern-bluefin-tuna-catch/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-307759</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Illegal fishing threatens unique marine ecosystem in Peru</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/illegal-fishing-threatens-unique-marine-ecosystem-in-peru/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/illegal-fishing-threatens-unique-marine-ecosystem-in-peru/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Oct 2025 20:31:34 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ramiro Escobar]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Morgan Erickson-Davis]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/10/01124401/7X4A9785-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=306901</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Latin America, Peru, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Bycatch, Conservation, Ecosystems, Education, Environment, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Global Environmental Crisis, Illegal Fishing, Marine, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Overfishing, and Saltwater Fish]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[“Your waters start here and go to over there!” a man says in an aggressive tone, his face hidden behind a black balaclava, standing at the water’s edge near a guard post of Illescas National Reserve, located in the department of Piura, about 800 kilometers (500 miles) north of Lima. Near the shore, there is [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[“Your waters start here and go to over there!” a man says in an aggressive tone, his face hidden behind a black balaclava, standing at the water’s edge near a guard post of Illescas National Reserve, located in the department of Piura, about 800 kilometers (500 miles) north of Lima. Near the shore, there is a somewhat battered pickup truck and next to it, a small wooden boat known as a zapatito (little shoe), where there is also a net lying on the sand, in which a few flathead grey mullets (Mugil cephalus) are still flapping their fins. The net is a chinchorro, which has been banned along the entire Peruvian coast since 2009 under a resolution from the Ministry of Production. Around 2 p.m., under a hesitant sun, the atmosphere grows increasingly tense as the fishers shout. One claims that “the beaches belong to God,” while another admits he knows this type of fishing “is prohibited” but says he has a family to feed. Staff from the National Service of Protected Natural Areas of Peru (SERNANP) approach to persuade them, warning that they are breaking the law and must haul in their fishing gear and leave. A truck accompanying the fishers, carrying several other people, has just fled the scene. Those still pulling in the nets eventually climb into the pickup truck towing the zapatito and leave the beach as well. On the shore, they toss several small fish they considered worthless, which the sun quickly scorches. “This is&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/illegal-fishing-threatens-unique-marine-ecosystem-in-peru/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/illegal-fishing-threatens-unique-marine-ecosystem-in-peru/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-306901</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Whale shark hotspot discovered along the Great Barrier Reef</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/whale-shark-hotspot-discovered-along-the-great-barrier-reef/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/whale-shark-hotspot-discovered-along-the-great-barrier-reef/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>19 Aug 2025 16:45:29 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Edward Carver]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Morgan Erickson-Davis]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/08/19110910/6-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=304501</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Australia, Great Barrier Reef, Pacific Ocean, and Queensland]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Bycatch, Climate Change, Conservation, data, Ecosystems, Environment, Fish, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Pollution, Research, Saltwater Fish, and Whale Sharks]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The whale shark — a shark, not a whale — is the largest fish in the world, roughly the length of a city bus. Whale sharks (Rhincodon typus), which live in warm seas, are known as majestic creatures. They’re covered in a mosaic of dots and stripes — groups of whale sharks are unofficially known [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The whale shark — a shark, not a whale — is the largest fish in the world, roughly the length of a city bus. Whale sharks (Rhincodon typus), which live in warm seas, are known as majestic creatures. They’re covered in a mosaic of dots and stripes — groups of whale sharks are unofficially known as constellations because of these “stars” on their back — and they glide through the water, seemingly unrushed, collecting food in their huge mouths. Part of their allure is their rareness: Finding and studying them is hard. They’re largely solitary creatures that roam great distances. Yet they do occasionally aggregate. There are about 30 known aggregation sites worldwide, mostly seasonal, and scientists have finally identified one along Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, a new study reveals. The study, published June 24 in the journal Ecology and Evolution, unveils a consistent seasonal gathering point for whale sharks, mostly juvenile males, in Wreck Bay, along the northern portion of the Great Barrier Reef. It’s the first known aggregation found in eastern Australia and in the entire southwest Pacific Ocean. Whale sharks in the region have been inadequately studied, so Wreck Bay could become a crucial research location, the study’s authors write. Globally, whale sharks are endangered and populations are declining. “It&#8217;s going to be quite significant for regional and global population assessments and conservation management,” Ingo Miller, a researcher at Australia-based Biopixel Oceans Foundation and first author of the study, told Mongabay. Ingo Miller puts a camera on&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/whale-shark-hotspot-discovered-along-the-great-barrier-reef/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/whale-shark-hotspot-discovered-along-the-great-barrier-reef/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-304501</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Global tracking study reveals marine megafauna hotspots lie largely unprotected</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/global-tracking-study-reveals-marine-megafauna-hotspots-lie-largely-unprotected/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/global-tracking-study-reveals-marine-megafauna-hotspots-lie-largely-unprotected/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Jul 2025 16:02:51 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Keith Anthony Fabro]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/06/27203226/AP25175119772976-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=301969</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Oceans]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Atlantic Ocean, Global, Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean, and Southern Ocean]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birds, Bycatch, Conservation, data, Ecosystems, Environment, Fish, Fishing, Governance, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Marine Mammals, Marine Protected Areas, Megafauna, Migration, Oceans, Research, Sea Turtles, Sharks, Whales, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A global study tracking nearly 13,000 individual marine animals has uncovered a sharp disconnect between where these animals actually spend their time and where marine protections exist. The findings raise concerns over whether current conservation targets can deliver for ocean giants. Published in the journal Science on June 5, the study mapped the movements of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A global study tracking nearly 13,000 individual marine animals has uncovered a sharp disconnect between where these animals actually spend their time and where marine protections exist. The findings raise concerns over whether current conservation targets can deliver for ocean giants. Published in the journal Science on June 5, the study mapped the movements of 12,794 individuals from 111 marine megafauna species. The analysis drew from a global dataset built from nearly 16,000 original individual tracks comprising 11 million geoposition records. Researchers found that these animals spend 80% of their time in just 63% of the area they traverse — in zones the authors call Important Marine Megafauna Areas (IMMegAs). But only about 5% of these IMMegAs currently fall within marine protected areas (MPAs). “It was very interesting to see that some areas are just used by multiple species in many similar ways, [which] clearly shows hotspot areas that are of high biological and ecological importance,” Ana Sequeira, the study’s lead author and an associate professor in the Research School of Biology at Australian National University, told Mongabay by email. “These areas represent good candidates for areas that should be considered for protection.” The findings cast doubt on whether the 30&#215;30 global target under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework — protecting 30% of Earth’s land and sea by 2030 — can deliver for wide-ranging species without stronger alignment between protections and the places these animals actually use. “It was concerning to see that even if the total increase to 30%&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/global-tracking-study-reveals-marine-megafauna-hotspots-lie-largely-unprotected/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/global-tracking-study-reveals-marine-megafauna-hotspots-lie-largely-unprotected/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-301969</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Two coasts, one struggle for octopus fishers battling overfishing and warming waters</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/two-coasts-one-struggle-for-octopus-fishers-battling-overfishing-and-warming-waters/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/two-coasts-one-struggle-for-octopus-fishers-battling-overfishing-and-warming-waters/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Jun 2025 17:08:41 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Davide ManciniPaola Margu]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/06/30132606/P-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=301650</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Atlantic Ocean, Europe, Latin America, Mexico, North America, and Spain]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Bycatch, Climate Change, Conservation, Ecosystems, Environment, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Global Environmental Crisis, Global Warming, Illegal Fishing, Marine, Marine Animals, Ocean Warming, Oceans, Overfishing, Sustainability, and Water]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[ASTURIAS, Spain, and YUCATÁN, Mexico — On a mild February morning, Isaac Blanco quickly places half a sardine into each cage as his brother, Julio, steers their boat along the Asturian coast in northern Spain. This is the beginning of the season for pulpo — Octopus vulgaris — the most commercially sought-after cephalopod in this [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[ASTURIAS, Spain, and YUCATÁN, Mexico — On a mild February morning, Isaac Blanco quickly places half a sardine into each cage as his brother, Julio, steers their boat along the Asturian coast in northern Spain. This is the beginning of the season for pulpo — Octopus vulgaris — the most commercially sought-after cephalopod in this region, and part of the local fishing tradition. The fishing villages along this stretch of the Asturian coast have long been a model of sustainable fisheries. In 2016, a fishery of 33 artisanal boats called Arpesos became the first in the world to earn an eco-certification from the U.K.-based Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) for octopus fishing. These fishers employ a technique that’s widespread on the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts of Europe and Africa. A selective fish trap called a nasa in Spanish consists of a plastic-steel cage with fish bait inside. Once an octopus enters the cage, it can’t easily exit, and when fishers pull the trap back on board, they can throw any octopus smaller than the legal size back into the sea alive. The same goes for unintended bycatch, like sea stars, crabs or small fish. The technique has existed since ancient times, but nowadays it’s becoming less common, with fishers often using bottom trawlers instead to catch octopus. Julio told Mongabay that prior to attaining MSC certification, they struggled to earn enough because cheaper imports entering Spain kept prices low. A combination of overfishing, climate change effects and generational turnover has caused&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/two-coasts-one-struggle-for-octopus-fishers-battling-overfishing-and-warming-waters/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-301650</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Peru’s new bycatch training aims to help save hooked sea turtles: Q&#038;A with fisher Gustavo Rosales</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/perus-new-bycatch-training-aims-to-help-save-hooked-sea-turtles-qa-with-fisher-gustavo-rosales/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/perus-new-bycatch-training-aims-to-help-save-hooked-sea-turtles-qa-with-fisher-gustavo-rosales/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Jun 2025 16:32:44 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ana Cristina Alvarado]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Morgan Erickson-Davis]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/06/17135201/8-Buenas-Practicas-Liberacion-TORTUGA-1-e1746057118140-768x512-1-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=300913</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Pacific Ocean, Peru, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Bycatch, Conservation, Education, Environment, Fish, Fishing, Interviews, Oceans, Saltwater Fish, Sea Turtles, Seabirds, and Turtles]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Attracted by bait, sea turtles off the coast of southern Peru often get caught on fishing hooks intended for mahi-mahi. Releasing the turtles is complicated as they’re heavy animals, and some try to defend themselves from humans by flapping their flippers and biting. “It gives me great satisfaction to release them,” says Gustavo Rosales, a [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Attracted by bait, sea turtles off the coast of southern Peru often get caught on fishing hooks intended for mahi-mahi. Releasing the turtles is complicated as they’re heavy animals, and some try to defend themselves from humans by flapping their flippers and biting. “It gives me great satisfaction to release them,” says Gustavo Rosales, a fisher from the city of Ilo. “If it weren’t for the turtles, there would be no balance. Everything is in a chain.” Rosales is one of 4,472 Peruvian fishers who have been trained by the government in best practices for releasing turtles, seabirds and other animals unintentionally caught by fishing gear, better known as bycatch. A hawksbill turtle, one of the species fishers have tried to rescue and release in southern Peru. Image courtesy of WWF. The training workshops, held along the country’s coastline, began in 2022 to implement a regulation aimed at the mahi-mahi (Coryphaena hippurus) fishery. The regulation requires that at least one crew member per boat has obtained a training certificate. Jesús Nieves, general director of technical development and training in artisanal fishing at the National Fund for Fisheries Development (FONDEPES), says there are approximately 4,500 fishing boats targeting mahi-mahi, with about one trained crew member per boat at present. The goal is to reach 10,000 trained fishers, so the workshops are ongoing. Gustavo Rosales during a training workshop aimed at implementing the regulation for the mahi-mahi fishery. Image courtesy of Prodelphinus Perú. Rosales says the training not only raises awareness among&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/perus-new-bycatch-training-aims-to-help-save-hooked-sea-turtles-qa-with-fisher-gustavo-rosales/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/perus-new-bycatch-training-aims-to-help-save-hooked-sea-turtles-qa-with-fisher-gustavo-rosales/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-300913</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>On its 50th anniversary, ‘Jaws’ continues to provoke shark conservationists</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/on-its-50th-anniversary-jaws-continues-to-provoke-shark-conservationists/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/on-its-50th-anniversary-jaws-continues-to-provoke-shark-conservationists/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Jun 2025 15:51:24 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Edward Carver]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/06/18121544/6-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=300999</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Atlantic Ocean, Global, Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean, and Southern Ocean]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Bycatch, Conservation, Culture, Environment, Fish, Fishing, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Media, Oceans, Sharks, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The movie Jaws, released on June 20, 1975, was one of the very first Hollywood summer blockbusters, and remains one of the highest-grossing films of all time, adjusted for inflation. Its dramatic tension comes from a series of attacks by a massive shark in a fictional New England beach town. And yet, in the last [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The movie Jaws, released on June 20, 1975, was one of the very first Hollywood summer blockbusters, and remains one of the highest-grossing films of all time, adjusted for inflation. Its dramatic tension comes from a series of attacks by a massive shark in a fictional New England beach town. And yet, in the last 50 years, it’s the sharks that have been under attack: Sharks’ global abundance, along with closely related species, has declined by more than 70% since 1970, according to a 2021 study in the journal Nature. About one-third of sharks and closely related species are now threatened. Experts have different views on how much of this decline can be attributed to a single film, but even skeptics of Jaws’ role agree that it misrepresented the nature of sharks and likely had a net negative impact, however small, on their population sizes and conservation status. “It legitimized the killing of sharks, and … delegitimized any thoughts or concerns for the conservation of sharks,” Nick Dulvy, a professor of marine biodiversity at Simon Fraser University in Canada and a leading shark expert, told Mongabay. Dulvy, a co-author of the 2021 study, said Jaws was “probably an enormous” factor in the decline in global shark populations of the last half-century. A Jaws poster hangs in the Living Sharks Museum in Rhode Island in 2024. Universal Pictures spent $1.8 million marketing the film Jaws, which was among the very first summer blockbusters. Photo by Rebecca Kessler. Negative impacts The film&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/on-its-50th-anniversary-jaws-continues-to-provoke-shark-conservationists/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/on-its-50th-anniversary-jaws-continues-to-provoke-shark-conservationists/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-300999</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Tuna talks bring wins for Indian Ocean sharks, but more needed, experts say</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/tuna-talks-bring-wins-for-indian-ocean-sharks-but-more-needed-experts-say/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/tuna-talks-bring-wins-for-indian-ocean-sharks-but-more-needed-experts-say/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 May 2025 15:11:06 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Malavika Vyawahare]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/05/01120001/whale-shark-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=298467</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Who controls Indian Ocean tuna?]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Indian Ocean]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Bycatch, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Policy, Fisheries, Fishing, Marine, Marine Animals, Overfishing, Regulations, Sharks, Tuna, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[SAINT-DENIS, La Réunion — The intergovernmental body that regulates tuna fisheries in the Indian Ocean agreed to a suite of shark conservation measures, including rules to curb shark finning and the use of gear that causes significant shark bycatch. The new measures adopted by the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) provide critical relief for a [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[SAINT-DENIS, La Réunion — The intergovernmental body that regulates tuna fisheries in the Indian Ocean agreed to a suite of shark conservation measures, including rules to curb shark finning and the use of gear that causes significant shark bycatch. The new measures adopted by the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) provide critical relief for a range of beleaguered shark species, but they may not be enough for some species, observers say. “Sharks won for the very first time at the IOTC except the shortfin mako,” Iris Ziegler, head of fisheries policies and ocean advocacy at the German Foundation for Marine Conservation, told Mongabay. “For shortfin mako, it was a disaster. We are overexploiting the species, and it may never recover.” The IOTC is a regional fisheries management organization (RFMO) responsible for overseeing fishing of 16 species of tuna and highly migratory tuna-adjacent species like mackerel, billfish and swordfish. The body held its 29th session in Saint-Denis, La Réunion, an overseas department of France, April 13-17. On the meeting’s agenda were a range of decisions related to conservation and management of the targeted tuna and tuna-like species. This year, shark conservation proposals featured prominently in the talks. An overlap in the aquatic habitats of sharks and tuna means that tuna fisheries capture a significant number of the threatened fish accidentally, as “bycatch.” Sturdy as they appear, sharks are very vulnerable to overfishing. They grow and mature more slowly than other marine animals; for example, female shortfin makos (Isurus oxyrinchus) take nearly&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/tuna-talks-bring-wins-for-indian-ocean-sharks-but-more-needed-experts-say/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/tuna-talks-bring-wins-for-indian-ocean-sharks-but-more-needed-experts-say/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-298467</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>New evidence spells massive trouble for world’s sharks, rays and chimaeras</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/new-evidence-spells-massive-trouble-for-worlds-sharks-rays-and-chimaeras/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/new-evidence-spells-massive-trouble-for-worlds-sharks-rays-and-chimaeras/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Jan 2025 14:30:58 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Spoorthy Raman]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/01/02141137/Bottlenose-wedgefish%C2%A9Rainer-von-Brandis-Save-Our-Seas-Foundation-Copyright-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=292607</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Bycatch, Conservation, Consumption, Elasmobranchs, Endangered Species, Environment, Fish, Fisheries, Food, Food Industry, Governance, Illegal Fishing, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Overfishing, Research, Saltwater Fish, shark finning, Sharks, Wildlife consumption, and Wildlife Trade]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Evolution has perfected the world’s sharks and rays for more than 420 million years. Unlike the ammonites or pterosaurs that they once shared the oceans with, sharks and rays persevered through five mass extinctions. But now, their resilience has been put to test by a human folly: overfishing. In 2023, the Java stingaree (Urolophus javanicus) [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Evolution has perfected the world’s sharks and rays for more than 420 million years. Unlike the ammonites or pterosaurs that they once shared the oceans with, sharks and rays persevered through five mass extinctions. But now, their resilience has been put to test by a human folly: overfishing. In 2023, the Java stingaree (Urolophus javanicus) became the first marine fish on record to have gone extinct because of humans. If our current fishing trends continue, it won’t be the last, scientists warn in a recently published report and a study. The new IUCN report, put together by more than 350 experts from more than 100 countries, finds that overfishing is the biggest threat to the world’s 1,266 species of sharks, rays and chimaeras (a distantly related deep-sea order of fish often called “ghost sharks”). Building on previous population assessments and new knowledge gained in the past two decades, the IUCN report identifies global and local threats to sharks and rays found in 158 countries with a coastline. “The report is a call for action,” said report lead author Rima Jabado, who chairs the Shark Specialist Group at the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority. “We know so much more [about sharks and rays] than we used to 20 years ago but it&#8217;s not all beautiful and rosy … and we need to be doing something about it.” The report finds Indonesia, Spain and India top the world’s shark-fishing countries, followed by Mexico and the U.S. While only a quarter of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/new-evidence-spells-massive-trouble-for-worlds-sharks-rays-and-chimaeras/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/new-evidence-spells-massive-trouble-for-worlds-sharks-rays-and-chimaeras/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-292607</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Cambodian fishers-turned-citizen scientists monitor marine mammal deaths</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/10/cambodian-fishers-turned-citizen-scientists-monitor-marine-mammal-deaths/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/10/cambodian-fishers-turned-citizen-scientists-monitor-marine-mammal-deaths/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>07 Oct 2024 04:27:59 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gerald FlynnVutha Srey]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/01/02180656/dugong-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=288253</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birds, Bycatch, Coastal Ecosystems, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Fisheries, Fishing, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Illegal Fishing, Marine, Marine Conservation, Marine Mammals, Marine Protected Areas, Overfishing, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[SIHANOUKVILLE, Cambodia — Cambodia has a marine mammal problem. Dolphins, dugongs and other species are caught and killed in fishers’ nets or wash up dead on beaches regularly, but no one knows how many, exactly why or how to stop it. To fill the void of data, a local NGO trained residents of 36 fishing communities [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[SIHANOUKVILLE, Cambodia — Cambodia has a marine mammal problem. Dolphins, dugongs and other species are caught and killed in fishers’ nets or wash up dead on beaches regularly, but no one knows how many, exactly why or how to stop it. To fill the void of data, a local NGO trained residents of 36 fishing communities along the country’s coast to join a nascent citizen scientist network documenting incidents of marine mammal bycatch and strandings. The NGO, Khmer Ocean Life, operating in partnership with local NGO SAMAKY Organization, delivered training sessions across Cambodia’s four coastal provinces — Kampot, Kep, Koh Kong and Preah Sihanouk — through July and August 2024. By leveraging fishing communities’ local expertise and presence on the water through the citizen scientist network, the group will track the frequency of bycatch and strandings and identify hotspots. The data will inform mitigation strategies to preserve Cambodia’s marine biodiversity. The training sessions, delivered by staff from Khmer Ocean Life and the Fisheries Administration, aimed to develop fishers’ understanding of different marine mammal species. Community members learned how to identify the most common ones by shape, color, size and features; how to use the personal protective equipment (PPE) needed when handling dead animals; and how to record physiological and geospatial data about bycatch and strandings on a simple form. They also learned how marine mammals fit into the broader marine ecosystem. “This is what we want the communities to understand,” said El Lokkaman, a project assistant who delivers the trainings. “That&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/10/cambodian-fishers-turned-citizen-scientists-monitor-marine-mammal-deaths/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/10/cambodian-fishers-turned-citizen-scientists-monitor-marine-mammal-deaths/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-288253</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Clock ticks on Indonesia shark skinners as predator population plunges</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/clock-ticks-on-indonesia-shark-skinners-as-predator-population-plunges/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/clock-ticks-on-indonesia-shark-skinners-as-predator-population-plunges/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>25 Sep 2024 16:28:25 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Asad Asnawi]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/09/25081340/sharks-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=287812</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Java, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Bycatch, Conservation, Consumption, Elasmobranchs, Endangered Species, Environment, Fish, Fisheries, Food, Food Industry, Governance, Illegal Fishing, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Overconsumption, Overfishing, Predators, Saltwater Fish, shark finning, Sharks, Wildlife consumption, and Wildlife Trade]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[LAMONGAN, Indonesia — Sulaiman is so practiced at stripping a zebra shark that he can skin the animal in just a few minutes. He sticks a knife into the meter-long (3-foot) fish and strips the skin away clean from the flesh and cartilage as morning breaks over East Java province. “It’s only a few types [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[LAMONGAN, Indonesia — Sulaiman is so practiced at stripping a zebra shark that he can skin the animal in just a few minutes. He sticks a knife into the meter-long (3-foot) fish and strips the skin away clean from the flesh and cartilage as morning breaks over East Java province. “It’s only a few types [of sharks] that are skinned,” Sulaiman, not his real name, told Mongabay Indonesia at Brondong harbor, one of Indonesia’s largest fishing ports. Once skin and fins are separated from the shark on the dock by knife-wielding fishers like Sulaiman, a network of distributors transport these products from Brondong to storage for up to a month. Most shark meat is processed locally by drying, salting or smoking before being sold on to retailers or restaurants. Finished products join a supply chain that is poorly covered by international oversight. Mongabay has previously reported on the troubles afflicting fishing hubs along the northern Java coast, an area known as Pantura. Fishers along the Pantura are floundering against an incoming tide of thinner fish stocks and a government ban on the purse seine, vast nets with a tight weave that are ruthlessly effective but notorious for high levels of indiscriminate bycatch. The world’s largest archipelago country is recorded as the world&#8217;s top shark catcher and a major exporter of shark products, including fins, liver oil, meat and skin. More than 200 of the world’s 1,250 shark species are found patrolling the reef passes and deepwater trenches across Indonesia. While&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/clock-ticks-on-indonesia-shark-skinners-as-predator-population-plunges/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/clock-ticks-on-indonesia-shark-skinners-as-predator-population-plunges/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-287812</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Shark fin consumption wanes in Thailand, yet demand persists, report shows</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/07/shark-fin-consumption-wanes-in-thailand-yet-demand-persists-report-shows/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/07/shark-fin-consumption-wanes-in-thailand-yet-demand-persists-report-shows/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Jul 2024 15:10:52 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Carolyn Cowan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/07/29145720/Banner_OceanImageBank_AnitaKainrath-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=285248</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Oceans]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Southeast Asia, and Thailand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Bycatch, Conservation, Consumption, Elasmobranchs, Endangered Species, Environment, Fish, Fisheries, Food, Food Industry, Governance, Illegal Fishing, Marine, Marine Animals, Oceans, Overfishing, Research, Saltwater Fish, shark finning, Sharks, Wildlife consumption, and Wildlife Trade]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Consumption of shark fin has declined by more than one-third in Thailand since 2017, according to a new report from wildlife advocacy group WildAid. But with more than half of urban Thai citizens reporting they still plan to eat shark in the future, demand remains high. “Thais are becoming more aware of the importance of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Consumption of shark fin has declined by more than one-third in Thailand since 2017, according to a new report from wildlife advocacy group WildAid. But with more than half of urban Thai citizens reporting they still plan to eat shark in the future, demand remains high. “Thais are becoming more aware of the importance of sharks to the ocean,” Petch Manopawitr, a conservation scientist and Thailand program adviser at WildAid, said in a statement. “[However], not only does the demand for shark fin persist, but sharks are becoming more commonly used in pet food and snacks as well.” The report, based on interviews with 1,007 urban-dwelling members of the Thai public, looks at changes in shark-fin consumption patterns in Thailand between 2017 and 2023. The surveys also gauged people’s opinions of sharks and products derived from them. According to the findings, the number of city-based shark-fin consumers in Thailand has dropped from around 6.6 million to roughly 5.3 million citizens over the past 7 years, reflecting a 34% decrease in the number of servings of shark fin soup, a status symbol dish, consumed per year. Most people who eat shark do so at social gatherings, such as family gatherings and weddings, the study found. A hammerhead shark caught in a fishing net. Image by Toby Matthews/Ocean Image Bank. As the ocean’s top predators, sharks play a vital role in maintaining balance within the food chain. Yet despite their crucial importance, shark numbers have been decimated by overfishing, bycatch and consumer&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/07/shark-fin-consumption-wanes-in-thailand-yet-demand-persists-report-shows/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/07/shark-fin-consumption-wanes-in-thailand-yet-demand-persists-report-shows/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-285248</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Ancient giant river dolphin species found in the Peruvian Amazon</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/03/ancient-giant-river-dolphin-species-found-in-the-peruvian-amazon/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/03/ancient-giant-river-dolphin-species-found-in-the-peruvian-amazon/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Mar 2024 22:35:31 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/03/20222413/Boto-%C2%A9-COULANGES-_-WWF-Sweden-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=280128</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Latin America, Peru, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Artificial Intelligence, Biodiversity, Bycatch, Cetaceans, Conservation, Conservation Technology, Dams, Dolphins, Dredging, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Policy, Fishing, Forests, Freshwater Fish, Green, Mammals, Monitoring, New Discovery, Rainforests, Research, Species Discovery, Technology, Tracking, Wildlife, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A team of paleontologists found a giant fossilized skull along the shore of the Napo River in the Peruvian Amazon. To their surprise, the relic belonged to a newly described species of giant freshwater dolphin. This colossal creature swam in the rivers of the Amazon around 16 million years ago and is considered the largest-known [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A team of paleontologists found a giant fossilized skull along the shore of the Napo River in the Peruvian Amazon. To their surprise, the relic belonged to a newly described species of giant freshwater dolphin. This colossal creature swam in the rivers of the Amazon around 16 million years ago and is considered the largest-known species of river dolphin to have ever lived, measuring 3-3.5 meters (9.8-11.5 feet). Artistic reconstruction of Pebanista yacuruna in the murky waters of the Peruvian proto-Amazonia. Image by Jamie Bran. “As soon as I recognized it, I saw the teeth sockets. I screamed, ‘this is a dolphin.’ We could not believe it,” Aldo Benites-Palomino told The Guardian. Scientists unearthed the fossil during a 2018 expedition led by the University of Zurich (UZH). The new species has been named Pebanista yacuruna, after mythical aquatic beings (Yacuruna) believed by some Indigenous groups to live deep in the river. The team was also surprised to find that the ancient creature was not related to the local, living species of Amazon river pink dolphin (Inia geoffrensis) but rather to South Asian river dolphins (genus Platanista). “We [had] found an animal, a giant, whose closest living relative is 10,000km away in south-east Asia,” Benites-Palomino was quoted as saying. Palaeontologists (from left to right): Rodolfo Salas-Gismondi (Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru), Julia Tejada-Lara (California Institute of Technology, California, USA), John Flynn (American Museum of Natura History, New York, USA) &amp; local guide Michel Valles during the 2018 expedition to the Napo&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/03/ancient-giant-river-dolphin-species-found-in-the-peruvian-amazon/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/03/ancient-giant-river-dolphin-species-found-in-the-peruvian-amazon/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-280128</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Irrawaddy dolphin death in Thailand&#8217;s Songkhla Lake underscores conservation needs</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/03/irrawaddy-dolphin-death-in-thailands-songkhla-lake-underscores-conservation-needs/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/03/irrawaddy-dolphin-death-in-thailands-songkhla-lake-underscores-conservation-needs/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>19 Mar 2024 09:02:06 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Carolyn Cowan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/03/19085052/IRRD_West-Bengal-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=279990</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Southeast Asia, and Thailand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Bycatch, Cetaceans, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Dolphins, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Environment, Fisheries, Fishing, Freshwater, Infrastructure, Lakes, Mammals, Marine Mammals, Pollution, Sustainable Development, Water, Water Pollution, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The recent death of a critically endangered freshwater Irrawaddy dolphin in southern Thailand’s Songkhla Lake has brought the plight of the waterbody’s tiny remaining population into stark focus. As few as 14 of the dolphins, Orcaella brevirostris, are thought to survive in the lake amid a slew of threats ranging from entanglement in fishing gear [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The recent death of a critically endangered freshwater Irrawaddy dolphin in southern Thailand’s Songkhla Lake has brought the plight of the waterbody’s tiny remaining population into stark focus. As few as 14 of the dolphins, Orcaella brevirostris, are thought to survive in the lake amid a slew of threats ranging from entanglement in fishing gear and depletion of their fish prey population, to deterioration of their habitat due to pollution and runoff from intensively developed surrounding land. Fishers found the adult dolphin body floating in the lake on Feb. 18. It was the first recorded fatality in three years within the imperiled population. Although authorities performed a necropsy to investigate the cause of death, the coroner’s report was inconclusive, citing no evidence of injuries from fishing nets and very few prey items in the animal’s stomach.  “We don’t have any evidence that the death is related to fishery activity,” Thon Thamrongnawasawat, a marine ecologist and lecturer at Kasetsart University in Bangkok, told Mongabay. He added, however, that external bruising indicated there could have been some trauma to the body: “The veterinary assessment said it might have been fighting among the group — sometimes the big males try to eliminate the younger ones.” Cetacean experts say that without swift action to safeguard the remaining animals, Thailand risks losing this small but internationally significant group of dolphins that represent one of only five freshwater populations of the species worldwide. With so few individuals remaining, each fatality pushes the population inexorably closer to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/03/irrawaddy-dolphin-death-in-thailands-songkhla-lake-underscores-conservation-needs/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/03/irrawaddy-dolphin-death-in-thailands-songkhla-lake-underscores-conservation-needs/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-279990</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>DNA probe uncovers threatened shark species in Thailand’s markets</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/01/dna-probe-uncovers-threatened-shark-species-in-thailands-markets/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/01/dna-probe-uncovers-threatened-shark-species-in-thailands-markets/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Jan 2024 15:18:03 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Carolyn Cowan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/01/30145537/BANNER_OceanImageBank_MasayukiAgawa_4-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=278239</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Southeast Asia, and Thailand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Bycatch, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, DNA, Elasmobranchs, Endangered Species, Environment, Fish, Fisheries, Food, International Trade, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Overfishing, Predators, Research, Saltwater Fish, shark finning, Sharks, Top Predators, Wildlife, Wildlife consumption, and Wildlife Trade]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Shark conservation groups in Thailand are calling for greater marine protections and improved traceability in shark trade supply chains following a study that identified threatened shark species in products commonly sold in the country’s markets. The DNA-based study detected 15 shark species in products sampled from retail markets, restaurants, warehouses, seaports and fish landing sites [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Shark conservation groups in Thailand are calling for greater marine protections and improved traceability in shark trade supply chains following a study that identified threatened shark species in products commonly sold in the country’s markets. The DNA-based study detected 15 shark species in products sampled from retail markets, restaurants, warehouses, seaports and fish landing sites around Thailand. More than half were species listed as threatened with extinction (vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered) on the IUCN Red List, including great hammerheads (Sphyrna mokarran), scalloped hammerheads (Sphyrna lewini) and sandbar sharks (Carcharhinus plumbeus). The research team, comprising Thailand’s Department of Fisheries, wildlife advocacy group WildAid and Thailand-based researchers, published their findings last year in Conservation Genetics. In a new report highlighting the implications of the findings, WildAid points to shortcomings with traceability in the international shark fin trade and urges the public to say “no” to shark fin and other shark-derived products. “What we discovered was probably just the tip of an iceberg,” Petch Manopawitr, a conservation scientist and Thailand program adviser at WildAid, told Mongabay. Given the shark fin trade is notoriously opaque and difficult to monitor, Petch said there’s currently no means of reliably tracing where the sharks identified in the study came from, how they were caught, or by whom. What is clear, however, is that consumers of shark products, such as shark fin soup, are risking complicity in the demise of keystone species that could have knock-on consequences for the health of the world’s oceans. “To put it&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/01/dna-probe-uncovers-threatened-shark-species-in-thailands-markets/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/01/dna-probe-uncovers-threatened-shark-species-in-thailands-markets/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-278239</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>AI unlocks secrets of Amazon river dolphins&#8217; behavior, no tagging required</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/08/ai-unlocks-secrets-of-amazon-river-dolphins-behavior-no-tagging-required/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/08/ai-unlocks-secrets-of-amazon-river-dolphins-behavior-no-tagging-required/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Aug 2023 13:27:15 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/08/01002615/boto-1-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=271655</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Amazon Conservation]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon and Brazil]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Artificial Intelligence, Biodiversity, Bycatch, Conservation, Conservation Technology, Dams, Dolphins, Dredging, Endangered Species, Environment, Fishing, Forests, Freshwater Fish, Green, Mammals, Monitoring, Rainforests, Research, Technology, Tracking, Wildlife, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Freshwater dolphins navigate the waterways of the Amazon Basin. In the wet season, water spills from the rivers, flooding parts of the forests. The dolphins go, too, using their exceptionally flexible bodies and echolocation clicks to navigate a maze of submerged greenery. Researchers who study the dolphins typically use boats to follow and sometimes tag [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Freshwater dolphins navigate the waterways of the Amazon Basin. In the wet season, water spills from the rivers, flooding parts of the forests. The dolphins go, too, using their exceptionally flexible bodies and echolocation clicks to navigate a maze of submerged greenery. Researchers who study the dolphins typically use boats to follow and sometimes tag the animals, but this is nearly impossible in floodplain forests. As a result, the habits of two endangered freshwater species — the pink river dolphin or boto (Inia geoffrensis) and the tucuxi (Sotalia fluviatilis) — have been shrouded in mystery until recently. Researchers from the Technical University of Catalonia, Spain, and the Mamirauá Institute of Sustainable Development in Tefé, Brazil, have successfully combined advanced acoustic-monitoring techniques and artificial intelligence to shed light on the movements and behaviors of these dolphins in their seasonally flooded habitats. Their results are published in the journal Scientific Reports. Two botos exploring the floodplains in the Mamirauá Sustainable Development Reserve. Image courtesy of Wezddy Del Toro/IDSM. The researchers submerged powerful recording devices called hydrophones to depths of 3-5 meters (10-16 feet) at various spots across an area covering approximately 800 square kilometers (309 square miles) of the Mamirauá Sustainable Development Reserve in Amazonas state. The hydrophones recorded sounds from various habitats, including river channels, confluence bays, floodplain lakes, and flooded forests during both wet and dry seasons between June 2019 and September 2020. To analyze these recordings, they employed convolutional neural networks (CNN), a type of deep-learning algorithm, to automatically&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/08/ai-unlocks-secrets-of-amazon-river-dolphins-behavior-no-tagging-required/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/08/ai-unlocks-secrets-of-amazon-river-dolphins-behavior-no-tagging-required/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-271655</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Sharks deserve our appreciation and protection  (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/sharks-deserve-our-fascination-and-protection-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/sharks-deserve-our-fascination-and-protection-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Jul 2023 15:12:46 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Assaf Levy]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/04/15163636/OceanImageBank_HannesKlostermann_55-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=270901</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Bycatch, Commentary, Conservation, Ecosystems, Elasmobranchs, Fisheries, Fishing, Illegal Fishing, Illegal Trade, Marine, Marine Animals, Oceans, Overfishing, shark finning, Sharks, Trade, Wildlife, and Wildlife Trade]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[July 14 is Shark Awareness Day, an annual reminder to raise awareness of these incredible creatures that roam the oceans. Sharks and rays belong to a group of fish known as elasmobranchs, which includes over 1,200 species. Sadly, in 2023 more than one-third of these species are at risk. Sharks and rays, in contrast to [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[July 14 is Shark Awareness Day, an annual reminder to raise awareness of these incredible creatures that roam the oceans. Sharks and rays belong to a group of fish known as elasmobranchs, which includes over 1,200 species. Sadly, in 2023 more than one-third of these species are at risk. Sharks and rays, in contrast to most fish, have skeletons formed of cartilage rather than bones, which gives them flexibility and helps them move gracefully in the water. They are not mammals like whales and dolphins; rays and sharks are fishes, and scientists are still discovering new species, showing just how diverse our oceans are. Sharks and rays play an important role in maintaining the delicate balance of marine ecosystems. They have a huge impact on regulating the populations of other marine species as apex predators, contributing to the overall health and stability of the seas, we at BioDB.com believe. Also, their scavenging behavior helps remove organic materials from the environment, contributing to nutrient cycling. Their presence can also create habitat diversity by influencing the behavior and distribution of other species. Today, however, they face numerous challenges. Overfishing, driven by demand for their meat, fins, and liver oil is a major threat to their survival. Additionally, the unintended capture of sharks and rays in fishing nets, known as bycatch, further compounds the problem. Loss of habitats and prey, as well as human disturbances and the overall degradation of our oceans, also threaten their existence. A blacktip reef shark swims among smaller&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/sharks-deserve-our-fascination-and-protection-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/sharks-deserve-our-fascination-and-protection-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-270901</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Fishing, dams and dredging close in on Peru’s river dolphins, study shows</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/fishing-dams-and-dredging-close-in-on-perus-river-dolphins-study-shows/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/fishing-dams-and-dredging-close-in-on-perus-river-dolphins-study-shows/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>05 Jul 2023 18:44:47 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/07/05162715/Jose-Luis-Mena-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=270594</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Amazon Conservation]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Latin America, Peru, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Bycatch, Conservation, Dams, Dolphins, Dredging, Endangered Species, Environment, Fishing, Forests, Freshwater Fish, Green, Mammals, Rainforests, Research, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Amazon river dolphins navigate the complex waterways of the forest, their pods spread across the Amazon Basin in six different countries. The routes of these large, pink mammals are naturally blocked by land, waterfalls and stretches of shallow water, but increasingly something else is in the way: human activity. According to a recent study published [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Amazon river dolphins navigate the complex waterways of the forest, their pods spread across the Amazon Basin in six different countries. The routes of these large, pink mammals are naturally blocked by land, waterfalls and stretches of shallow water, but increasingly something else is in the way: human activity. According to a recent study published in the journal Oryx, Amazon river dolphins (Inia geoffrensis) in Peru are threatened by fishing activity as well as the proposed construction of dams and dredging operations. “It’s clear that the Amazon river dolphin is facing increasing threats from humans,” lead author Elizabeth Campbell, of the Centre for Ecology and Conservation at the University of Exeter, U.K., said in a statement. Amazon river dolphins eat at least 53 different species of fish, making them an important aquatic predator. Image by Diogo Luiz via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). Researchers from Exeter and Peruvian conservation organization Pro Delphinus fitted satellite tags on eight dolphins in the Peruvian Amazon to track their movements in relation to fishing areas, dams and dredging sites. The findings revealed that an overwhelming 89% of the dolphins&#8217; home range is subject to fishing activity. Fishing not only depletes the dolphins&#8217; food sources but also subjects them to intentional killing and accidental capture, known as bycatch. The Amazon river dolphin is currently classified as endangered on the IUCN Red List. Actions that further threaten these large mammals could have dire consequences for the entire aquatic ecosystem. “As they are at the top of the food&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/fishing-dams-and-dredging-close-in-on-perus-river-dolphins-study-shows/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/fishing-dams-and-dredging-close-in-on-perus-river-dolphins-study-shows/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-270594</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>‘Manta grid’ provides a ray of hope against industrial bycatch threat</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/03/manta-grid-provides-a-ray-of-hope-against-industrial-bycatch-threat/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/03/manta-grid-provides-a-ray-of-hope-against-industrial-bycatch-threat/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Mar 2023 17:07:49 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Edward Carver]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/03/24155448/manta-ray-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=266858</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Oceans]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Bycatch, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, Ecosystems, Elasmobranchs, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Law, Fish, Fisheries, Food, Food Industry, Gillnets, Industry, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Overfishing, Rays, Research, Saltwater Fish, and Solutions]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[For half a century, industrial tuna fishing vessels have borne scrutiny for catching animals they haven’t meant to: “bycatch,” in fisheries lingo. Purse seiner vessels, which provide most of the world’s canned tuna, have drawn conservationists’ particular ire for their indiscriminate ways. They operate by dropping a massive cylindrical net and cinching it together at [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[For half a century, industrial tuna fishing vessels have borne scrutiny for catching animals they haven’t meant to: “bycatch,” in fisheries lingo. Purse seiner vessels, which provide most of the world’s canned tuna, have drawn conservationists’ particular ire for their indiscriminate ways. They operate by dropping a massive cylindrical net and cinching it together at the bottom, like a drawstring purse, so that everything above is caught. Yet in well-regulated regions, purse seining has become less damaging to marine life over time. First, conservationists and regulators focused on ways to avoid killing dolphins, then sea turtles, then sharks. More recently, manta and devil rays (genus Mobula), most species of which the IUCN lists as Endangered, have become part of the bycatch mitigation agenda. A bentfin devil ray (M. thurstoni) sits on a stretcher made to transport mobulids from ship decks back to sea. Successful release doesn’t guarantee post-capture survival, however. Bentfin devil rays survive capture by tuna purse seiner vessels less than 10% of the time, according to preliminary findings from tagging research in the eastern Pacific Ocean. The IUCN lists bentfin devil rays as Endangered. Image by TUNACONS/Cronin et al. 2022, ICES Journal of Marine Science. Mobulids, as these rays are collectively called, glide through the upper layers of tropical and subtropical waters, collecting plankton to eat. Mantas, which tend to be larger than devil rays, have a majestic calmness that’s made them popular among divers. They can grow as wide as a giraffe is tall — which makes&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/03/manta-grid-provides-a-ray-of-hope-against-industrial-bycatch-threat/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/03/manta-grid-provides-a-ray-of-hope-against-industrial-bycatch-threat/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-266858</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Banned but abundant, gillnets pose main threat to Bangladesh’s river dolphins</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/01/banned-but-abundant-gillnets-pose-main-threat-to-bangladeshs-river-dolphins/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/01/banned-but-abundant-gillnets-pose-main-threat-to-bangladeshs-river-dolphins/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Jan 2023 08:49:56 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abu Siddique]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abu Siddique]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/01/26081006/irrawady-dolphin-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=264992</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Bycatch, Conservation, Dolphins, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Law, Fish, Fishing, Freshwater, Freshwater Fish, Gillnets, Governance, Habitat Degradation, Mammals, Pollution, Rivers, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The indiscriminate use of gillnets by fishers in Bangladesh has become a major threat to the two freshwater dolphin species found there: the Ganga River dolphin (Platanista gangetica) and the Irrawaddy dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris). Both species, listed as threatened by the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority, are found in the Sundarbans, the world’s largest [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The indiscriminate use of gillnets by fishers in Bangladesh has become a major threat to the two freshwater dolphin species found there: the Ganga River dolphin (Platanista gangetica) and the Irrawaddy dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris). Both species, listed as threatened by the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority, are found in the Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest. Bangladesh is home to around 2,000 Ganga River dolphins and 6,000 Irrawaddy dolphins. Known locally as shushuk, the Ganga River dolphin is a purely freshwater species that was once abundant in the Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna and Karnaphuli-Sangu river systems that run between Nepal, India and Bangladesh. But the dolphin is disappearing from much of its range for several reasons, including the widespread use of gillnets, habitat loss, and pollution. Known locally as shushuk, the Ganga River dolphin is disappearing from much of its range for several reasons, including the widespread use of gillnets, habitat loss, and pollution. Image by Sarowar Alam Dipu. A 2020 publication by the IUCN identifies entanglement in large- and small-mesh gillnets as a major threat to this endangered species in Bangladesh. Research published in 2022 cited United Nations Development Programme data showing that 130 Ganga River dolphins were killed in Bangladesh between 2007 and 2016, mostly from fishing nets or boat propellers. The widespread use of gillnets means dolphins face a high risk of becoming entangled when they surface to breathe, said Monirul H. Khan, a zoology professor at Jahangirnagar University in Dhaka. “It becomes impossible for them to avoid the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/01/banned-but-abundant-gillnets-pose-main-threat-to-bangladeshs-river-dolphins/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/01/banned-but-abundant-gillnets-pose-main-threat-to-bangladeshs-river-dolphins/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-264992</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Greenland shark, world’s longest-living vertebrate, gets long-awaited protection</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/10/greenland-shark-worlds-longest-living-vertebrate-gets-long-awaited-protection/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/10/greenland-shark-worlds-longest-living-vertebrate-gets-long-awaited-protection/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Oct 2022 15:42:33 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elizabeth Claire Alberts]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Elizabethalberts]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/10/06151459/Greenland_shark_profile-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=261235</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Oceans]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Atlantic Ocean, Canada, and Greenland]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Bycatch, Charismatic Animals, Conservation, Ecosystems, Elasmobranchs, Environment, Fish, Fisheries, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Regulations, and Sharks]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Everything about the Greenland shark seems to be slow: these long-bodied animals swim slowly, grow slowly and reach maturity slowly. Their maturity rate is so sluggish, in fact, that scientists believe they don’t start reproducing until they’re about 150 years old — and that they can live anywhere from 270 to 500 years, making them [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Everything about the Greenland shark seems to be slow: these long-bodied animals swim slowly, grow slowly and reach maturity slowly. Their maturity rate is so sluggish, in fact, that scientists believe they don’t start reproducing until they’re about 150 years old — and that they can live anywhere from 270 to 500 years, making them the longest-living known vertebrate on the planet. But the longevity of Greenland sharks (Somniosus microcephalus) has made the species particularly vulnerable to overfishing. It’s estimated that about 3,500 individuals are accidentally caught as bycatch by demersal trawling (also called bottom trawling), longlines, and gill nets each year in the Northwest Atlantic, Arctic Ocean and Barents Sea, according to the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority. This, along with historical targeted fishing pressure, has contributed to a decline of about 60% in the past 420 years. In 2020, the Greenland shark’s conservation status on the IUCN Red List worsened from near threatened to vulnerable. In September, the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO), an intergovernmental organization that uses science to manage fisheries, made a historic decision: it prohibited the retention of Greenland sharks in international waters. “It was a long time coming, but not a long time in the life of a Greenland shark,” Sonja Fordham, president of Washington, D.C.-based Shark Advocates International, who attended the recent NAFO meeting in Portugal, told Mongabay. “We were glad that it finally went through, and it&#8217;s the first for that kind of protection for NAFO.” The new rule would prohibit&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2022/10/greenland-shark-worlds-longest-living-vertebrate-gets-long-awaited-protection/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/10/greenland-shark-worlds-longest-living-vertebrate-gets-long-awaited-protection/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-261235</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Death of last river dolphin in Laos rings alarm bells for Mekong population</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/04/death-of-last-river-dolphin-in-laos-rings-alarm-bells-for-mekong-population/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/04/death-of-last-river-dolphin-in-laos-rings-alarm-bells-for-mekong-population/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Apr 2022 13:25:19 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Carolyn Cowan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hayat Indriyatno]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/04/14130237/Mekong-Irrawaddy-dolphin-c-WWF-Cambodia-Tan-Someth-Bunwath_best-scaled-e1649941758778-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=254782</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, Laos, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Bycatch, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Dams, Dolphins, Ecotourism, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Law, Extinction, Fisheries, Fishing, Governance, Law Enforcement, Mammals, Marine Mammals, Rivers, Saving Species From Extinction, Solutions, Tropics, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Known only by his identity code, ID#35 was the last individual of a doomed subpopulation of freshwater Irrawaddy dolphins (Orcaella brevirostris). He was the sole occupant of a deep pool in the Mekong River that spans the border between Cambodia and Laos, and fought for several weeks against lacerations to his tail from entanglement in [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Known only by his identity code, ID#35 was the last individual of a doomed subpopulation of freshwater Irrawaddy dolphins (Orcaella brevirostris). He was the sole occupant of a deep pool in the Mekong River that spans the border between Cambodia and Laos, and fought for several weeks against lacerations to his tail from entanglement in illegal fishing gear. He had been struggling to swim, let alone to feed himself. Mortally wounded, ID#35 died as many of his kin before him. Yet there was a deeper significance to the moment his pale and bloated body washed up on a riverbank in mid-February 2022: his death confirmed that the Irrawaddy dolphin is extinct in Laos. Cetacean specialists have documented the loss of the dolphins from the Chheu Teal transboundary pool for years. In 1993, there were 17 individuals living in the pool. By 2009, the subpopulation had dwindled to seven; three years later to six; and by 2018, only three remained. In 2021, photo identification surveys led by Cambodia’s Fisheries Administration and WWF confirmed that ID#35 was all alone. The species, found in both freshwater and marine environments in South and Southeast Asia, is considered globally endangered. However, the freshwater populations that inhabit the Irrawaddy in Myanmar, the Mahakam in Indonesian Borneo, and Cambodia’s stretch of the Mekong are critically endangered, each with fewer than 100 remaining individuals. With the loss of the Mekong’s Chheu Teal subpopulation, the river’s fewer than 90 surviving dolphins now exclusively occur downstream in Cambodia, where they&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2022/04/death-of-last-river-dolphin-in-laos-rings-alarm-bells-for-mekong-population/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/04/death-of-last-river-dolphin-in-laos-rings-alarm-bells-for-mekong-population/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-254782</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Pingers on fishing nets found to save river dolphins in Indonesian Borneo</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/10/pingers-on-fishing-nets-found-to-save-river-dolphins-in-indonesian-borneo/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/10/pingers-on-fishing-nets-found-to-save-river-dolphins-in-indonesian-borneo/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Oct 2021 10:18:51 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Carolyn Cowan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Carolyncowan]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/10/29100633/yk-rasi_s_kedang_rantau_budiono__5_-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=248751</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Indonesian Fisheries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Acoustic, Animals, Biodiversity, Bycatch, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, Conservation Technology, Critically Endangered Species, Dolphins, Endangered Species, Environment, Fisheries, Fishing, Mammals, Marine Mammals, Mitigation, Rivers, Solutions, Tropics, Wildlife, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The last 80 Irrawaddy dolphins that inhabit the Mahakam River in Indonesian Borneo lead precarious lives. Their forays to find fish are frequently thwarted, sometimes fatally so, by a series of near-invisible gillnets that hang passively in the water column to ensnare fish. More than two-thirds of recorded river dolphin deaths in the Mahakam are [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The last 80 Irrawaddy dolphins that inhabit the Mahakam River in Indonesian Borneo lead precarious lives. Their forays to find fish are frequently thwarted, sometimes fatally so, by a series of near-invisible gillnets that hang passively in the water column to ensnare fish. More than two-thirds of recorded river dolphin deaths in the Mahakam are due to entanglement in these fishing nets. At an average of four deaths per year, experts say the losses are unsustainable for this critically endangered population of Irrawaddy dolphins (Orcaella brevirostris). Each dolphin drowned in a net nudges the population one step closer toward extinction. But their fate is not yet sealed. Over the past two years, local fishers have collaborated with the nonprofit Conservation Foundation for Rare Aquatic Species of Indonesia (YK-RASI) to develop an innovative solution to the dolphins’ plight. By attaching a banana-sized electronic device called a “pinger” to their nets, fishers have found they are able to keep the dolphins at a safe distance, preventing fatal entanglements. Pingers emit regular high-frequency pulses that are sufficiently audible to dolphins to serve as a deterrent. While pingers have been used around the world to reduce ocean bycatch of whales, dolphins and porpoises, this is the first time they have been used successfully in a river. The team assessed the pingers’ efficacy using underwater acoustic recorders to listen to the dolphins’ echolocation clicks and observations of the animals’ behavior from the surface. Their data indicated that dolphins kept a 10-meter (33-foot) radius around the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2021/10/pingers-on-fishing-nets-found-to-save-river-dolphins-in-indonesian-borneo/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/10/pingers-on-fishing-nets-found-to-save-river-dolphins-in-indonesian-borneo/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-248751</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>In Gabon, a new partnership protects sharks and rays</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/06/in-gabon-a-new-partnership-for-sharks-and-rays-announced-on-world-ocean-day/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/06/in-gabon-a-new-partnership-for-sharks-and-rays-announced-on-world-ocean-day/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Jun 2021 16:34:51 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gaspard AbitsiGodefroy De BruyneLuke Warwick]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/06/08194249/mako-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=243431</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Central Africa, and Gabon]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Bycatch, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, Elasmobranchs, Environment, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Governance, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Overfishing, Rays, Sharks, Solutions, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The Government of Gabon has passed landmark measures to manage and protect the country’s sharks and rays: over the past decade, Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has worked with the Gabon government to identify 69 species in the country’s waters, highlighting the diversity that these measures will help preserve, and this work has resulted in two [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The Government of Gabon has passed landmark measures to manage and protect the country’s sharks and rays: over the past decade, Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has worked with the Gabon government to identify 69 species in the country’s waters, highlighting the diversity that these measures will help preserve, and this work has resulted in two new laws to properly protect and manage these endangered marine species. Sharks are top, sometimes apex predators, that are essential to healthy marine environments, but grow slowly and are vulnerable to overfishing when not properly managed. The new laws will help safeguard Gabon’s must vulnerable sharks and rays and ensure their capture through the country’s fisheries remains sustainable. This partnership highlights a new global initiative to save the world’s sharks and rays, launched this World Ocean Day. The action is timely, as some of Gabon’s species have already been lost, including both species of sawfish—a large shark-like ray last recorded in Gabon’s waters in the 1990’s. A Critically Endangered African wedgefish caught as bycatch in an inshore artisanal fishery. Photo © WCS Gabon. The diversity of habitat in Gabon’s waters creates the perfect home for a wide range of shark and ray species: from the world’s largest fish—the open ocean whale shark—to the giant manta ray, along with the iconic scalloped hammerhead, whose nursery grounds can be found off Gabon’s shores, and a range of coastal species such as giant guitarfish. In recent years, we have identified the major threats that these sensitive marine species&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2021/06/in-gabon-a-new-partnership-for-sharks-and-rays-announced-on-world-ocean-day/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-243431</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Small steps aim to make a large ocean safer for rays</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2020/02/small-steps-aim-to-make-a-large-ocean-safer-for-rays/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2020/02/small-steps-aim-to-make-a-large-ocean-safer-for-rays/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Feb 2020 14:24:44 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Marianne Messina]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/02/24133530/Reef-Manta-Ray-Manta-alfredi-Rasfari-North-North-Mal%C3%A9-Atoll-Maldives-%C2%A9-Guy-Stevens-Manta-Trust-2015-26-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=227330</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Sea Change]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Pacific Ocean]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Bycatch, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, Ecology, Ecosystems, Environment, Environmental Policy, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Food, food security, Green, Marine, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Rays, Research, Saltwater Fish, Solutions, Sustainability, and Tuna]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Purse seine fishing nets may be set for tuna, but they trap whatever fish swim into them, including manta and devil rays. As the net tightens, rays will panic and thrash. Trauma and death by suffocation in the crush of fish are likely outcomes. But even those rays lucky enough to survive the net face [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Purse seine fishing nets may be set for tuna, but they trap whatever fish swim into them, including manta and devil rays. As the net tightens, rays will panic and thrash. Trauma and death by suffocation in the crush of fish are likely outcomes. But even those rays lucky enough to survive the net face further challenges. Tuna fishers don’t really want a 1,600-kilogram (3,500-pound) oceanic manta (Mobula birostris) flopping around on deck, but large mantas aren’t easy to put back into the ocean. Crews might hoist a ray overboard by hooking it through its gill plates or running a cable through a hole punched in its fin. This may explain why a 2016 New Zealand study found that less than half of rays released alive survive. New rules that apply to a vast swath of the Pacific Ocean aim to improve manta and devil rays’ chances of surviving encounters with fishing boats. In December 2019, the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) adopted a measure prohibiting fishers from targeting the rays or keeping the ones they catch accidentally, and mandating that they release living rays in a manner “that will result in the least possible harm.” The multilateral body manages fisheries in the region and includes some of the world’s largest tuna-fishing nations among its members: Japan, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Manta and devil rays, newly grouped into eight species in the genus Mobula, are generally large-bodied planktivores that live in tropical and temperate waters around the world.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/02/small-steps-aim-to-make-a-large-ocean-safer-for-rays/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-227330</doi>				</item>
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