ABSTRACT
Meeting the needs of people while sustaining ecosystems and the benets they deliver is a global challenge. Coastal marine systems present a particularly important case, given that over half of the world’s population lives within 100 km of the ocean, and sheries provide the primary source of protein for over a billion people worldwide (Leslie et al., 2015). Sharks and rays play important roles in many of these sheries and coastal communities, as not only do they provide food and income but they can also have strong social and cultural value (Dulvy et al., 2017). However, pressures on sharks and rays from shing, habitat loss, and other factors are increasing, resulting in global declines in some species and raising concerns that up to a quarter of the world’s sharks and rays are threatened with extinction (Dulvy et al., 2008).
