Hidden Diversity of Threatened Sharks and Rays in the Global Meat Trade

MacNeil, M. A.; Mull, C.; Martins, A.; Babcock, E.; Tyabji, Z.; Andorra, A.; Clarke, S.; Jabado, R.; Sant, G.; Cinner, J.; Gephart, J.; Dulvy, N.; Oakley-Cogan, A.; Kasana, D.; Warwick, L.; Simpfendorfer, C.; Fowler, S.; de Araujo Freire, M.; Bariche, M.; Beaufort, O.; Bizzarro, J.; del Pilar Blanco, M.; Braccini, M.; Barullio de Luna Sales, J.; Bustamante, C.; Carlson, J.; Charvet, P.; Cuevas, J.; Fernandes, C.; Fernando, D.; Finucci, B.; Garcia Rodriguez, E.; Gonzalez-Pestana, A.; Cardoso, L.; Hauser-Davis, R.; Muttaqin, E.; Polo-Silva, C.; Ready, J.; Ruiz-Garcia, D.; Saldana Ruiz, L.; Seidu

doi:10.1101/2025.04.24.650194

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bioRxiv · 10.1101/2025.04.24.650194

Hidden Diversity of Threatened Sharks and Rays in the Global Meat Trade

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Abstract

International wildlife trade is a major source of biodiversity loss, yet many species lie hidden within aggregated data that conceals trade impacts. We overcome this problem for the largest vertebrate wildlife trade globally - shark and ray meat - comprising 438 538 mt yr-1 across more than 150 species, 76% of which are Threatened. Revealed trade contains greater quantities of skates (+10%), hammerheads (+8%), and smoothhounds, dogfishes & tope (+5%), and fewer pelagic sharks (-38%) than previously known. Shorttail yellownose skate, smoothound, silky, mako, and blue sharks are the most underreported meat species, due to aggregated landings from China, Argentina, Japan, and Indonesia, demonstrating international trade in shark and ray meat as a diverse, pervasive, and previously hidden source of fishing mortality for many threatened species.

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MacNeil, M. A., Mull, C., Martins, A., Babcock, E., Tyabji, Z., Andorra, A., Clarke, S., Jabado, R., Sant, G., Cinner, J., Gephart, J., Dulvy, N., Oakley-Cogan, A., Kasana, D., Warwick, L., Simpfendorfer, C., Fowler, S., de Araujo Freire, M., Bariche, M., Beaufort, O., Bizzarro, J., del Pilar Blanco, M., Braccini, M., Barullio de Luna Sales, J., Bustamante, C., Carlson, J., Charvet, P., Cuevas, J., Fernandes, C., Fernando, D., Finucci, B., Garcia Rodriguez, E., Gonzalez-Pestana, A., Cardoso, L., Hauser-Davis, R., Muttaqin, E., Polo-Silva, C., Ready, J., Ruiz-Garcia, D., Saldana Ruiz, L., Seidu. 2025-04-26. Hidden Diversity of Threatened Sharks and Rays in the Global Meat Trade. https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.04.24.650194

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