Angels of the Adriatic: Next-steps-for-a-potential-hotspot

Once common across the Mediterranean, angel sharks have suffered widespread decline. This short report underlines the urgency of acting to save one of the last remaining populations in the Mediterranean.

Three species of angel shark can be found in the Mediterranean Sea: the angelshark (Squatina squatina), the sawback angelshark (S. aculeata) and the smoothback angelshark (S. oculata). Once widespread, all three species are now listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List.

We conducted a study to investigate how far the current MPA network could help the recovery of angel sharks in Croatian waters of the Adriatic Sea.

The findings showed that there’s potential for angel sharks to recover in the Adriatic and the wider Mediterranean if concerted, coordinated conservation actions are put in place.

Download

Angels of the Adriatic

PDF

3.65 MB