Today is World Shark Day, sixteen 'special' areas in Italian seas to protect them

Due to accidental catches in fishing, the Mediterranean is still one of the most dangerous seas for sharks and rays

ROME – Over half of the 86 species of sharks and rays in the Mare Nostrum they are at risk of extinction, in particular due to accidental capture in fisheries.Yet, these animals play an important role in maintaining the balance of the marine ecosystem. Apex predator sharks keep the food web in balance, while stingrays and mobulae are one of the vehicles for transferring nutrients and energy from deep waters to the surface levels of the ocean for the benefit of all marine biodiversity.The alert comes from the WWF on the occasion of the World Shark Day – Shark awareness Day, which is celebrated today and in its latest report "Italy:16 hotspots to save sharks and rays” highlights how fundamental it is to protect and safeguard the sharks and rays that live in our seas where, as in all oceans, numerous areas fundamental to their life cycle have been identified.

ISRA:SPECIAL AREAS FOR SPECIAL ANIMALS  

The Isra (ISRA, Important Shark and Ray Areas) are areas identified by an international group of experts and designated by IUCN to provide policy makers and other interested parties with the knowledge necessary for the implementation of an adequate conservation strategy based on marine spatial management.These areas have been identified based on 4 main criteria designed to consider the complex behaviours, ecology and biological needs of sharks and rays: ISRAs therefore include important areas for reproduction, feeding, aggregations, migrations, or areas that host species at risk of extinction, or even areas that host a high diversity of sharks and rays.In 2023, 65 ISRAs were identified and designated throughout the Mediterranean Sea, of which 16 reside within Italian seas.

To name a few, the Adriatic Sea alone is home to 6 ISRAs, including breeding and nursery areas for dogfish, dogfish, gray shark and blue shark, all threatened species, while the entire Sicilian Channel has been identified as an ISRA due to its species diversity hosted:more than 32, such as the gray shark, the white shark, the mako, but also ray species such as the eagle ray.The Ligurian Sea and north-eastern Sardinia instead host essential areas for the feeding of large filter-feeding elasmobranchs such as the basking shark and the mobula, for which the Strait of Messina is also an important transit area.The smallest ISRA, the Banco di Santa Croce, occupies only 0.13 km2 while the largest, the Isra Strait of Sicily and Tunisian Plateau extends for 219,913 km2.

The WWF contributed to the identification of some of these ISRAs. In particular, thanks to the work carried out over the years at the Monopoli navy in the Southern Adriatic together with COISPA Tecnologia&Ricerca, through the Safesharks and Medbycatch projects:thanks to the collaboration with fishermen dedicated to swordfish fishing in the monitoring activities of accidental catches and in satellite tagging activities, essential data on the movements of blue sharks were collected, used to identify the ISRA of the southern Adriatic Trench, as a relevant area for the reproduction and migration of this species at critical risk of extinction in the Mediterranean.

WWF REQUESTS

The number of ISRAs identified highlights the importance and urgency of intervening on the management and conservation of sharks and rays in Italy and the ISRAs themselves provide a key management support tool.These priority areas must now be included in the maritime spatial planning that the Italian government is working on in order to reduce the impacts that human activities have on sharks and rays.At the same time it is urgent that Italy finally equips itself with an Action Plan for Elasmobranchs to ensure a more effective implementation of current legislation and identify, according to a shared and participatory approach, the necessary management and conservation actions.

To celebrate sharks, the WWF continues its education and awareness efforts, starting from Scuba Diving Camp - Shark edition which will be held on the occasion of World Shark Day weekend in collaboration between WWF Italia, its WWF SUB and WWF YOUng communities and the Diving Massub:young people from 18 to 35 years old, during 3 days will be able to discover diving in the Marine Protected Area of ​​Portofino and learn more about the world of sharks with a dedicated scientific aperitif together with the Shark Study Center of Massa Marittima.While from the end of August a week of events will take place in the North Adriatic with various in-depth events for the public on these wonderful species.