The new ISRAs (Important Shark and Ray Areas) in the Canary Islands reflect the unique biodiversity of the archipelago, including areas such as Pasito Blanco or Las Canteras beach (Gran Canaria), Las Teresitas beach (Tenerife), La Restinga (El Hierro) and the largest designated area covering Fuerteventura, Lanzarote and La Graciosa, recognising the enormous ecological value of the eastern islands.
Dr David Jiménez Alvarado, a researcher with the BIOCON group at the ECOAQUA University Institute of the ULPGC, is the only representative of the archipelago and one of two Spaniards among the 30 international specialists who participated in the latest workshop held in The Hague (Netherlands), where final decisions were made on the selection of these areas.
Experts from around the world endorse the creation of 22 areas in the Canary Islands out of the 124 Important Shark and Ray Areas (ISRAs) designated throughout the North Atlantic. This process was recently carried out in The Hague (Netherlands) with the participation of Dr David Jiménez Alvarado, a researcher from the Biodiversity and Conservation (BIOCON) group at the ECOAQUA University Institute, part of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC).
Specimen of smalltooth sand tiger photographed by researcher Felipe Ravina.
Jiménez Alvarado, co-leader of the international conservation project “Angel Shark Project” and principal investigator of the “Rays of Paradise” project, among others, was the sole representative of the Canary Islands and one of two Spanish participants among the 30 specialists, international leaders in the study of these species, who took part in the final decision-making phase, thus consolidating the ULPGC as a leader in the study and conservation of elasmobranchs (sharks and rays).
BIOCON/ECOAQUA researcher Dr David Jiménez Alvarado during his participation in the international workshop to designate ISRAs in the European Atlantic.
These ISRAs highlight areas in the Canary Islands that are essential for such emblematic species as the angel shark (Squatina squatina) and the spiny butterfly ray (Gymnura altavela), whose research has provided decisive data for their protection. Other species of great interest were also included, such as manta rays (Mobula spp.), dogfishs (especially common smooth-hound -Mustelus mustelus-), pelagic sharks such as hammerheads (Sphyrna spp.), blue sharks (Prionace glauca) and shortfin mako sharks (Isurus oxyrinchus), as well as smalltooth sand tigers (Odontaspis ferox) and thresher sharks (Alopias spp.).
Specimen of angel shark photographed by researcher Felipe Ravina.
The new Canary Islands ISRAs reflect the unique biodiversity of the archipelago and its importance for different stages of the life cycle of these species.
Among the areas chosen are, for example, breeding grounds for mantelinas, such as Pasito Blanco (Gran Canaria), breeding grounds for angelote, such as Las Teresitas beach (Tenerife), and areas of high diversity for multiple species, such as Las Canteras (Gran Canaria), La Restinga (El Hierro) and the largest designated area, which encompasses Fuerteventura, Lanzarote and La Graciosa, thus recognising the enormous ecological value of the eastern islands.
In the opinion of Jiménez Alvarado, whose contribution was key to achieving the inclusion of all the proposed areas in the Canary Islands, as well as several strategic areas on the Iberian Peninsula, ‘ISRAs are an essential step towards the effective conservation of sharks and rays in the Atlantic and the Canary Islands’.
The researcher asserts that ‘their identification marks a starting point which, with political will and local, national and international cooperation, could become a solid tool for ensuring the survival of these species, which are key to the balance of marine ecosystems’.
By island
By island, the ISRAs identified are as follows: five in Gran Canaria, where the aforementioned Pasito Blanco and Las Canteras Beach are located, as well as Sardina del Norte, Melenara and El Cabrón; seven in Tenerife, where the aforementioned Las Teresitas Beach has been approved, as well as the areas of Radazul, Abades-El Porís, El Médano-Las Maretas, Los Cristianos, Puerto Colón and Alcalá-Playa San Juan; one in La Palma, covering the entire south-west of the island; one in La Gomera, the Valle Gran Rey area; one in El Hierro, covering the Mar de las Calmas, the El Bajón seamount and the south coast of the island, including the aforementioned La Restinga beach.
Spatial representation of the areas approved in the Canary Islands by the Independent Review Panel.
Finally, in the easternmost islands there are: three ISRAs in Fuerteventura (Jandía, El Jablito and El Castillo), two in Lanzarote (Playa Chica and El Reducto), one in La Bocaina, located between these two islands, as well as the largest approved area, which includes the entire Chinijo archipelago (comprising La Graciosa, which is also a specific ISRA, and the islets of Alegranza, Montaña Clara, Roque del Este and Roque del Oeste), the island of Lanzarote, the islet of Lobos and the island of Fuerteventura.
Key tool
ISRAs are marine areas of great importance for sharks, rays and chimaeras, identified on the basis of international scientific criteria. Their function is to identify the areas that are essential to the life cycle of these animals: areas for reproduction, breeding, feeding, aggregation and migration routes. Although they are not marine protected areas in themselves, they represent a key tool for guiding conservation policies, fisheries management and marine spatial planning.
According to Jiménez Alvarado, ISRAs have ‘great potential as a management and conservation tool’.
Among their future objectives, he says, are: "to serve as a scientific basis for the creation of new Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) or the improvement of existing ones; guiding sustainable fisheries management, minimising the incidental capture of sharks and rays; supporting scientific monitoring programmes to better understand the distribution and behaviour of species; and promoting environmental awareness and education, bringing the importance of sharks and rays closer to society".
Specimen of a spiny butterfly ray photographed by researcher Felipe Ravina.
Last May, the ninth regional workshop to designate new Important Areas for Sharks and Rays in the European Atlantic was held in The Hague (Netherlands). This edition included regions such as the north-eastern Atlantic and the waters of Spain and Portugal.
Group photo of participants in the final workshop for selecting ISRAs in the North Atlantic, held in The Hague.
In the initial phase, 214 international experts participated, providing information on different species and candidate marine areas in the aforementioned geographical area. After this initial review, only 30 specialists, international leaders in their respective fields of study, including Dr David Jiménez Alvarado, were invited to the final meeting, also held in The Hague, where the final decisions were made. As a result, 124 ISRAs have been recognised in the European Atlantic, 22 of which correspond to the Canary Islands archipelago.
The project website can be found at this link: https://sharkrayareas.org/