About 1/3 of sharks and rays worldwide are facing extinction

A total of 128,918 species are included in the recent IUCN Red List of Threatened Species; 35,765 of these species are listed as Endangered.

The populations of more than 420 species were assessed, 154 of which are listed as Endangered. Among them, there are species that can be found in the Mediterranean Sea and in Greek waters such as the Galeorhinus galeus (GAG) Tope shark, and Chimaera monstrosa (CMO) Rabbitfish. Out of the 200 species that were listed as Not Evaluated in 2014, due to a lack of data, 57 are now evaluated as Endangered in the most recent report.

One species of shark (Carcharhinus obsoletus), which was only formally described in 2019, enters the Red List as Critically Endangered (Possibly Extinct) since its most recent record dates back to 1934. Nevertheless, further research is required.

The Greek Red Book was published in 2009 and it included 63 Chondrichthyan species, 50 of which were listed as Not Evaluated due to the absence of data. According to recent research, it is estimated that the majority of the species that belong to the Data Deficient (DD) category, i.e. the majority of the species found in the Greek seas, belong to the threatened categories and thus are facing extinction.

                                      

iSea and the IUCN Shark Specialist Group have undertaken the preparation and compilation of the National Chondrichthyans Checklist in Greece in collaboration with Greek researchers. However, this is only an initial step as, considering the information presented above, it is imperative to re-compile the Red List for Chondrichthyans in Greece.