The perception of sharks as large, fearsome, toothy predators belies the reality that sharks and rays are highly diverse and can be informative of the health of the marine environment. In 2014, nearly 25% of chondrichthyan species were threatened (Dulvy et al., 2014, eLife, 3, e00590), and this increased to c. 33% in 2021 (Dulvy et al., 2021, Current Biology, 31, 4773-4787), with at least three species possibly extinct.

IUCN Red List assessments show that overfishing and habitat loss and degradation are the primary drivers of this decline, with pollution and climate change also contributing. Yet despite increasing extinction risk, 20% of all known species of sharks, rays and ghost sharks (collectively referred to as sharks) were descibed in the past 15 years. Some known species, however, have simply vanished.

Most of the threatened sharks occur in subtropical and tropical coastal waters, in regions considered biodiversity hotspots but where there is a lack of adequate species-specific identification knowledge and identification guides. Thus although a few charismatic species receive much media, conservation and scientific attention, the fate of over 1,200 species of lost sharks (i.e. species that have not been recorded in over 10 years) remains largely unknown.

To address this problem, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories Pacific Shark Research Center's Lost Sharks project has partnered with an international team of regional and local experts in Africa, Asia, Europe, Indonesia and South America to search for shark species that have not been seen in decades. Through field surveys and identification training workshops, experts in each region will focus on a group of sharks, with an emphasis on Critically Endangered and possibly extinct species. To raise public awareness of these lost sharks, we will publicize our search through outreach, the media and speaking engagements. Information gathered through this project will be critical for our local partners in developing future conservation and management policies for sharks.

The 3-year Lost Sharks project runs from 2023 to 2025, and is supported by the Save Our Seas Foundation (grant 594) and South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity.