Strengthening the protection of angel sharks in the Southern Aegean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is home to 7% of the world’s biodiversity of Cartilaginous fish, including angel sharks.
Due to their biological characteristics, angel sharks have become the third most threatened family of elasmobranchii in the world, with many species in urgent need of protection, with mediterranean populations have already been assessed as “Critically Endangered” according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species.
In 2019, the Action Plan for the Protection of Angel Sharks in the Mediterranean (RAP) was published, with the vision of restoring stable populations capable of fulfilling their ecological roles in a healthy ecosystem.
Certain steps are considered important for improving the conservation of angel sharks in the Aegean Sea:
- Improving species identification
- Improving the quality of data on angel sharks and increasing access to this data through the National Fisheries Data Collection Program.
- Minimizing illegal fishing and trade
- Strengthening citizen science networks to provide more records
The Mediterranean borders more than 20 countries with different cultures and religions. Sustainable fishing, habitat protection and the protection of marine species must be a common goal of the countries involved and consequently, there is a need to coordinate different entities, organisations, scientific groups and approaches.
