iSea NGO’s Post

10 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE BOWMOUTH GUITARFISH 🤔 Meet the bowmouth guitarfish (Rhina ancylostomus) — one of the ocean's most extraordinary yet least understood shark-like rays! 🪸 From being the world's most Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) jawed vertebrate to its unique biology, major threats, and our global effort to safeguard its future, here are 10 things 🫵 YOU 🫵 should know about this remarkable species! Our newest affiliate project, Shark Ray 360, unites more than 30 organizations across four continents to advance the research, conservation, and recovery of the critically endangered bowmouth guitarfish. 🔗 Learn more about Shark Ray 360 — https://lnkd.in/gxbaequv! 📸 (1) Andy Murch, (2) Marc Dando, (3) Dave Primov, (4,8) Mark Erdmann, (5) Newport Aquarium, (6) Georgia Aquarium, (7,9) Sirachai Arunrugstichai, (10,11) Singapore Oceanarium #ReShark #SharkRay360 #BowmouthGuitarfish #SharkRay #Conservation

🦈 Greek Shark Logbook: Shark Sightings in Greece — First Half of 2026 From 1/1/2026 to 30/6/2026, the Greek Shark Logbook recorded 40 shark observations across Greek waters. So far, the records include 9 shark species, with the blue shark (Prionace glauca) being the most frequently recorded species, with 17 observations. A very important part of this year’s data is the increasing participation of fishermen. In the first half of 2026, 20 observations were linked to fishing activity, showing how valuable fishermen are becoming in shark reporting and citizen science. More observations do not necessarily mean “more sharks”. It often means that more people are recording, photographing, and reporting what they see. Through the Greek Shark Logbook, citizen observations, fishermen's reports, and verified records help us build a clearer picture of shark presence and biodiversity in Greece. 📍 Every record matters. 📷 Photo or video, date, and location help turn a sighting into useful scientific data. Citizen science and fishermen are helping us understand sharks in Greek waters better. 🦈🌊 #GreekSharkLogbook #MermanConservation #CitizenScience #SharksInGreece #MarineConservation #SharkResearch #Biodiversity #Greece #Fishermen #SharkSightings https://lnkd.in/dSRnqj-c

Great work by the entire team. These remarkable camera trap images demonstrate how science and technology are transforming conservation by providing reliable evidence of snow leopard presence, prey populations, and habitat use. Such long-term monitoring is essential for informed management and effective transboundary conservation. Congratulations to all partners, especially the Ilbirs Foundation, National Geographic Society, and Fondation Segré, for advancing collaborative conservation across Central Asia. Wishing you continued success in safeguarding these iconic mountain ecosystems.

In the high mountains of Baiboosun, Kyrgyzstan, camera traps turn remote landscapes into actionable conservation data. Recent images gave us amazing looks from the field: rare glimpses of snow leopards, the lands they call home, and the prey species that keep this ecosystem balanced. That data directly powers our work on the ground. Through our Central Asia Program, we are fostering regional collaborations to protect the endangered flagship mammal species of Central Asia — the Persian Leopard and Snow Leopard — across Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan. Take a look at some of these images scrolling through this post! 👉 This program is supported by the National Geographic Society and Fondation Segré. 📸 Images via Ilbirs Foundation

This #SharkAwarenessDay, meet the overlooked electric rays. Nearly 1/2 of assessed numbfish species are threatened with extinction, yet most of them have less than 1% of their range covered by no-take MPAs. Using our data from our recent paper "Sharks, Rays, and MPAs: A Global Assessment of Marine Protected Area Coverage Across Species Ranges" (Open Access and found here: tinyurl.com/SharkRayMPA), we built a free Shark & Ray MPA Explorer so researchers, managers, and conservationists can explore species-level MPA coverage for all 1,158 species which includes 5,700+ spatial intersections. Here we show that data for the Numbfishes! The focal family of this year's Shark Awareness Day. Look up these species and more by visiting our shiny app! https://lnkd.in/gxf6M-bJ Jay Hirokazu Matsushiba Nicholas Dulvy FRSC IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group (SSG) #numbfishes #sharks #rays #electricrays #marine #conservation #openscience

MBARI researchers complete expedition to study deep-sea jellies in Southern California - MBARI: Gelatinous animals play an important role in ocean ecosystems, but have historically been challenging to study. MBARI's Biodiversity and Biooptics Team, led by Senior Scientist Steven HADDOCK, studies the biodiversity of jellies, siphonophores, and ctenophores, observing and collecting these delicate drifters for further study in the lab. By examining their physical characters and sequencing their genomes, the team is documenting previously unknown species and revealing hidden diversity within familiar groups. https://lnkd.in/eUV39jN7

#Blog | Every shark species has evolved its own strategy to survive. 🦈 From schooling scalloped hammerheads to resting whitetip reef sharks, solitary tiger sharks, and highly migratory whale sharks, their behavior reflects different ecological roles and conservation needs. 🌎 Understanding where sharks feed, rest, and migrate helps scientists identify the habitats and migration routes that are essential for protecting these remarkable species.  🌊📖 Read the full story here: https://lnkd.in/eEbK2RR3 📸 Jordi Chias, Carlos Robalino/CDF, Billy Bensted-Smith/CDF, Jonathan R. Green #Sharks #Galapagos #MarineScience #Conservation

Supported by Blancpain, Tatiana Boube’s PhD research through the Tamataroa Project is helping unlock critical insights into the ecology and movements of the endangered great hammerhead shark. As we celebrate women leading ocean science, we're also proud to work with Blancpain on the Global Shark & Ray Census, empowering divers around the world to contribute to shark and ray conservation through citizen science. Thank you, Blancpain and Gombessa Expeditions for making this possible! PADI AWARE Foundation #GlobalSharkAndRayCensus #CitizenScience #Blancpain #BlancpainOceanCommitment #PADIWomen

🦈 World Shark Day   Sharks have been patrolling our oceans for over 400 million years — older than dinosaurs and trees. As crucial predators, they help stabilize marine food webs and support ecosystem health from coral reefs to the open ocean. Nearly a third of shark and ray species are now threatened with extinction (IUCN Shark Specialist Group’s 2024 global reassessment), and there's still far more research needed to understand and protect them - especially in the regions where data is scarcest.   Two new Research Topics in our Elasmobranch Science section are open for contributions:   🔹 Perceiving the Predators: Social Science Perspectives on Human Interactions with Sharks and Rays https://lnkd.in/e9gCefGn   🔹 Innovative Conservation Strategies for Elasmobranchs in Data-Poor Regions https://lnkd.in/e6htsGrF   If your research touches shark and ray conservation, human-elasmobranch interactions, or community-based monitoring in under-studied regions, we'd love to see your work in one of these collections. #WorldSharkDay #ElasmobranchScience #SharkConservation #OpenAccess #FrontiersInFishScience Photo credit : Johann Mourrier 

Most researchers never get this kind of access. On our recent Expedition Micro Cruise, our Expedition Leader, Giancarlo Gallinoro, got the required access and brought guests along for it. This summer, Giancarlo Gallinoro, one of our Expedition Leaders in Svalbard, is running an eDNA sampling project across ten fjords, several of which have no existing biological baseline. The method: seawater samples collected directly from a Zodiac, analysed for the genetic traces left behind by fish, seabirds, seals and whales. Guests take on roles within the sampling process itself, logging GPS coordinates, water temperature, and salinity. Giancarlo has guided in Svalbard since 2022 and holds a master's in wildlife biology and conservation. His work sits at the intersection of expedition travel and field science, a tradition as old as polar exploration itself, when every voyage carried naturalists alongside navigators. This pilot phase concludes this season. The goal: scientific publication, and a foundation for tracking how Arctic ecosystems are changing. More researchers, more projects, to follow in this series. 🔗 To delve deeper into Giancarlos research, read his new blog article here: https://zurl.co/zN8Nt 📽️: Marco Miglionico #Marinebiology #Arctic #Research #Travel #Expedition