Improving the understanding of threatened wedgefish and guitarfish to inform CITES assessments

Wedgefish and guitarfish are among the most threatened groups of sharks and rays due to their large size, high exposure to fisheries, high value of products in trade and increasing loss of habitat. However, there is limited information on their biology worldwide. This project will increase the biological information available to guide conservation efforts for these threatened species, on a regional (for Indonesia and Southeast Asia) and global scale, such as detailed life history (age, growth and reproduction), species distribution, abundance and diversity, population productivity and extinction risk. This information will then be used to inform international conservation arrangements such as CITES as well as local fishery risk assessments and management plans, and to increase awareness of the conservation issues surrounding this group of shark-like-rays.