At a UN wildlife conference in Brazil, governments agreed to extend protections to 40 additional migratory species, including populations of cheetahs, snowy owls, and several shark species, bringing total coverage under the Convention on Migratory Species to 1,200+ species. The meeting highlighted accelerating declines driven by habitat loss, climate change, overexploitation, and pollution, prompting new action plans, regional initiatives, and calls for stronger international cooperation and integration of Indigenous knowledge. Leaders stressed that real conservation outcomes will depend on turning agreements into on-the-ground action before the next summit in Bonn in 2029.

A major UN conference on migratory species opens today in Brazil amid new reports that almost half (49%) of all species with protection under the Convention on Migratory Species have negative population trends, and nearly one in four are threatened with extinction due to a combination of overexploitation, habitat destruction, pollution, climate change, and invasive species.

Writing in Frontiers in Marine Science, researchers recently shared the results of remote stereo camera observations of pelagic thresher sharks in the Central Visayan Sea. It is the first attempt using stereo videography, a non-invasive method, to assess a vulnerable population of these sharks. Models indicated that one third of the mean fishing pressures observed on thresher sharks in nearby habitats would be sustainable for the sharks in the study region. Beyond this number, the removal of more thresher sharks would result in population decline.

A new shark deterrent developed at FAU could transform commercial fishing by dramatically reducing unintended shark bycatch. Created by Stephen Kajiura, Ph.D., the patent-pending device uses a simple zinc and graphite combination to generate a weak electric field that repels sharks without affecting target fish. Field tests have shown up to a 69% reduction in shark bycatch, offering a practical, low-cost solution to a persistent ecological and economic challenge.

A new study analysing two fossilised whale skulls from around 5 million years ago has revealed fragments of sharks’ teeth lodged inside them. This provides rare evidence of how sharks fed on whales in north European waters in prehistoric times.

Bull sharks form social relationships with specific “friends”, new research reveals.

A new study provides a comprehensive global synthesis of how vessel traffic affects large marine wildlife, including whales, dolphins, seals, manatees, sea turtles, sharks and rays.