Only One Percent of Important Shark and Ray Areas in the Western Indian Ocean Are Fully Protected From Fishing Pressure

Cochran, Jesse E. M. and Charles, Ryan and Temple, Andrew J. and Kyne, Peter M. and García‐Rodríguez, Emiliano and Gonzalez‐Pestana, Adriana and Batlle‐Morera, Amanda and Mouton, Théophile L. and Armstrong, Asia O. and Rohner, Christoph A. and Coker, Darren J. and Hardenstine, Royale S. and Kattan, Alexander and McIvor, Ashlie J. and Peinemann, Viktor Nunes and O'Toole, Kaitlyn A. and Palm, Lea and Richardson, Eloise B. and Akhilesh, Kalli Valappil and Ali Abedi, Haleh and Almealla, Reem K. and Almojil, Dareen and Andrzejaczek, Samantha and Askin, Arzucan N. and Banerjee, Avik A. and Bargahi, Hamid R. and Barnes, Alissa J. and Barteneva‐Vitry, Svetlana and Behzadi, Siamak and Bein, Aymeric and Bennett, Rhett H. and Bocchi, Filippo and Boldrocchi, Ginevra and Braulik, Gill T. and Braun, Camrin D. and Brighton, Eleanor and Budd, Frances K. P. and Bullock, Robert W. and Canovas Perez, Clara and Carlisle, Aaron B. and Carpenter, Michelle and Chapple, Taylor K. and Chaúca, Isabel and Cliff, Geremy and Crochelet, Estelle and Cullain, Nakia and Curnick, David J. and Daly, Ryan and de Necker, Leigh and Diamant, Stella and Donati, Giulia F. A. and Ebert, David A. and Eid, Ehab and Elhassa, Igbal S. and Elston, Chantel and Everett, Bernadine I. and Farrag, Mahmoud M. S. and Fassbender, Nico and Fennessy, Sean T. and Fernando, Stela M. C. and Finucci, Brittany and Flam, Anna L. and Gausman, Peter and Gauthier, Arnault R. G. and Sreekanth, Giri Bhavan and Gupta, Trisha and Hafeez, Meral and Hagy, Badrú N. and Haines, Jessica L. A. and Harris, Joanna L. and Harvey‐Carroll, Jessica and Hempson, Tessa N. and Hilbourne, Simon T. and Hsu, Hua Hsun and Ibrahim, Nor D. and Jacoby, David M. P. and Jaquemet, Sébastien and Babu K K, Idrees and Karnad, Divya and Kaunda‐Arara, Boaz and Kizhakudan, Shoba J. and Kock, Alison A. and Koester, Anna and Kuboja, Bigeyo N. and Kuguru, Baraka L. and Lea, James S. E. and Mahadalle, Omar and Manjebrayakath, Hashim and Mason‐Parker, Christophe and Mateos‐Molina, Daniel and Menon, Muktha and Moore, Alec B. M. and Mourier, Johann and Murra, Taryn S. and Nakhawa, Ajay D. and Nazurally, Nadeem and Nelso, Lauren E. and Nevill, John E. G. and Olbers, Jennifer M. and Ostrovski, Raquel L. and Peel, Lauren R. and Perisic, Nathan and Peterson, Bradley and Pierce, Simon J. and Pittman, Simon J. and Rahangdale, Shikha and Rambahiniarison, Joshua and Rastgoo, Ali Reza and Rezaie‐Atagholipour, Mohsen and Robinson, David P. and Samoilys, Melita A. and Sawers, Tamaryn J. and Scannell, Brittney J. and Schmidt, Jennifer V. and Silva, Isabel M. and Silva, Luis and Solonomenjanahary, Jadiyde and Spaet, Julia L. Y. and Stevens, Guy M. W. and Strike, Elspeth M. and Thomas, Sujitha and van Beuningen, David and Venables, Stephanie K. and Vossgaetter, Lennart and Weideli, Ornella C. and Williams, Ivor D. and Williams, Collin T. and Willson, Andrew J. and Wilson, Livi and Zareer, Irthisham H. and Zerr, Kaitlyn M. and Berumen, Michael L. and Jabado, Rima W. (2026) Only One Percent of Important Shark and Ray Areas in the Western Indian Ocean Are Fully Protected From Fishing Pressure. Ecology and Evolution, 16 (1): e72690. ISSN 2045-7758

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Abstract

The Western Indian Ocean (WIO) is known for its high diversity of chondrichthyans (sharks, rays, and chimaeras). However, intense fishing pressure has led to severe population declines and local extinctions of several species. The Important Shark and Ray Area (ISRA) process is a collaborative, evidence‐based approach used to identify critical habitat for chondrichthyans. We analysed ISRAs across the WIO to quantify the diversity of research methods used to identify them, evaluate spatial overlap with designated marine protected areas (MPAs), model the influence of several species‐ and jurisdiction‐specific variables on ISRA delineation, and explore the importance of incorporating unpublished data into the delineation process. In total, 125 ISRAs (covering > 2.8 million km2; ~10% of total regional surface area) were identified within the WIO from surface waters to ~2000 m depth. These ISRAs contain over one‐third (n = 104, 39%) of the 270 chondrichthyan species reported from the region, with 76% being threatened with extinction according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The underlying evidence supporting ISRA identification was primarily drawn from relatively inexpensive research methods, such as visual census (25%) or fish‐market/landing site surveys (22.6%), as well as citizen science (9.5%). Incorporating unpublished records substantially increased the frequency of ISRA delineation, leading to expanded taxonomic and geographic coverage. Still, the full dataset was influenced by the same biases as the published record, tending to favour large‐bodied, wide‐ranging, and shallow‐dwelling species. Only 7.1% of ISRAs are within designated MPAs, with just 1.2% in fully protected no‐take areas. The highest no‐take overlap occurs in the Seychelles and Chagos Archipelago. These findings highlight the shortfalls in spatial protection of chondrichthyan habitats, but also present a strategic opportunity for policy‐makers and resource managers to improve current MPA coverage and meet their commitments under international agreements, such as the Global Biodiversity Framework.