Mouton, T.L., A., Gonzalez-Pestana, C.A., Rohner, R., Charles, E., García-Rodríguez, P.M., Kyne, A., Batlle-Morera, G.N., di Sciara, A.O., Armstrong, E., Acuña, J., Alfaro-Shigueto, R., Arauz, C.G., Avalos-Castillo, E., Augustinus, S., Bessudo, E., Barraza, C., Bustamante, E.J., Chávez, E.R., Espinoza, M., Espinoza, A., Hacohen-Domené, A.R., Hearn, G.M., Hernández, F., Galván-Magaña, J.A., Gonzalez-Leiva, J.T., Ketchum, F., Ladino, F., Lara-Lizardi, J.M., Morales-Saldaña, N., Morales Serrano, J., Madrigal-Mesén, P.A., Mejía-Falla, A.F., Navia, G.M., Ochoa, M.D., Palacios, C.R., Peñaherrera-Palma, F., Polanco-Vásquez, Y., Rodríguez-Arriatti, L.E., Saldaña-Ruiz, O., Sosa-Nishizaki, J., Tovar-Ávila, Á.J., Vega, X., Vélez-Zuazo, M., Villate-Moreno, I., Zanella & R.W., Jabado (2025). Shortfalls in the protection of Important Shark and Ray Areas undermine shark conservation efforts in the Central and South American Pacific. Marine Policy. 171: 106448. DOI: 10.1016/j.marpol.2024.106448.
Théophile L. Mouton 1, Adriana Gonzalez-Pestana 2, Christoph A. Rohner 1, Ryan Charles 1, Emiliano García-Rodríguez 1, Peter M. Kyne 3, Amanda Batlle-Morera 1, Giuseppe Notarbartolo di Sciara 1, Asia O. Armstrong 4, Enzo Acuña 5, Joanna Alfaro-Shigueto 2, Randall Arauz 6, Cristopher G. Avalos-Castillo 7, Ely Augustinus 1, Sandra Bessudo 8, Enrique Barraza 9, Carlos Bustamante 1, Elpis J. Chávez 10, Eduardo Ramon Espinoza 11, Mario Espinoza 12, Ana Hacohen-Domené 13, Alex R. Hearn 14, Grettel M. Hernández 15, Felipe Galván-Magaña 16, José A. Gonzalez-Leiva 17, James T. Ketchum 18, Felipe Ladino 8, Frida Lara-Lizardi 19, Jorge Manuel Morales-Saldaña 1, Naití Morales Serrano 20, Jeffry Madrigal-Mesén 10, Paola A. Mejía-Falla 21, Andrés F. Navia 21, Gabriela M. Ochoa 22, Marta D. Palacios 23, César R. Peñaherrera-Palma 6, Francisco Polanco-Vásquez 24, Yehudi Rodríguez-Arriatti 25, Luz E. Saldaña-Ruiz 26, Oscar Sosa-Nishizaki 26, Javier Tovar-Ávila 27, Ángel J. Vega 27, Ximena Vélez-Zuazo 28, Melany Villate-Moreno 29, Ilena Zanella 30 y Rima W. Jabado 1
Global biodiversity targets require nations to designate 30 % of their marine waters asprotected areas by 2030. Sharks, rays, and chimaeras (hereafter ‘sharks’) are key components ofaquatic ecosystems; however, over a third are globally threatened withextinction. Across the Central and South American Pacific Ocean region, we (i)assessed trends in Marine Protected Area (MPA) expansion and extent across the12 nations of the region; (ii) quantified the spatial overlap between MPAs andImportant Shark and Ray Areas (ISRAs); and (iii) evaluated the effectiveness ofthe current MPA governance structure at protecting sharks and their criticalhabitat. There has been a recent rapid increase in the establishment of MPAswith 90 % of current MPAs designatedsince 2010. Yet, El Salvador, Guatemala, Peru, and Honduras still protect lessthan 10 % of their waters. We findthat ISRAs overlap with all MPAs by only 15.6 % and with no-take MPAs by 7.3 %. This raises concerns about the low level of protectionafforded to critical shark habitats in the region. Of 182 MPAs identified, 41.8 % do not have a managementplan, comprising 39.8 % of the total MPA surface area. Mexico, Costa Rica, andColombia have relatively strong governance frameworks in place and, along withPanama, Honduras, and Ecuador, represent the highest overlap between MPAs andISRAs. However, the contribution of the remaining six countries to sharkprotection via MPAs is low based on limited spatial overlap with ISRAs (<2 %). As countries mobilise tomeet the 30×30 target, we propose considering ISRAs as a key component ofspatial planning when designing new MPAs, designating existing partiallyprotected areas as no-take zones, or reshaping the boundaries of existing MPAs.
Palabras clave: Area-based conservation; biodiversity; conservation; governance; Spatial planning; Chondrichthyes
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