Opportunities to enhance conservation success for sharks
Temple, Andrew J., Cochran, Jesse E.M., Pirog, Agathe, Dulvy, Nicholas K., Cortés, Enric, Weigmann, Simon, Booth, Hollie, Wheeler, Carolyn R., Finucci, Brittany, Haque, Alifa Bintha, Heithaus, Michael R., Seidu, Issah, Rummer, Jodie L., and Berumen, Michael L. (2025) Opportunities to enhance conservation success for sharks. npj Ocean Sustainability, 4 (1). 24.
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Abstract
Sharks, rays, and chimaeras are among the most threatened vertebrate lineages. Despite considerable conservation efforts, the extinction risk of sharks continues to rise. We present a quantitative analysis of the shark conservation literature, exploring trends and interconnectivities in key topics using a machine learning approach. We show that shark conservation research is a well interconnected, coherently structured, and rapidly expanding field centred around a conservation nexus linking human-wildlife interactions to species use and management. Shark conservation research is increasingly interdisciplinary and is well prioritised toward key threats that drive the decline of shark populations, both of which are key to effective management. However, we also identify opportunities to further strengthen research and management. These include improved integration of key research topics, enhancing the understanding of combined threats, and greater consideration for the role of sub-lethal impacts. Lastly, we stress that meaningful integration of research topics, rather than simple contextualisation, is essential to building the comprehensive and nuanced understanding necessary to inform effective conservation actions. By leveraging the strengths of the field and addressing its remaining weaknesses, there is hope for a future where sharks thrive and contribute to healthy, resilient marine ecosystems.
| Item ID: | 87573 |
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| Item Type: | Article (Research - C1) |
| ISSN: | 2731-426X |
| Copyright Information: | © The Author(s) 2025. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/. |
| Date Deposited: | 14 Jan 2026 07:24 |
| FoR Codes: | 31 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES > 3103 Ecology > 310305 Marine and estuarine ecology (incl. marine ichthyology) @ 100% |
| SEO Codes: | 18 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT > 1805 Marine systems and management > 180504 Marine biodiversity @ 100% |
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