Sharks International 2026 begins in Colombo today

The Sharks International 2026 conference, the world’s largest gathering of researchers and experts on sharks and rays, will commence at the BMICH, today (May 4).

The premier global scientific conference that focuses exclusively on sharks and rays which is held once in four years will conclude on May 8. Sharks International was held in Australia (2010), South Africa (2014), Brazil (2018) and Spain (2022).

This is the first time, the parley is being held in Asia, reflecting the region’s growing importance in global marine biodiversity and fisheries governance.

The conference is organised by the Sri Lanka-based Blue Resources Trust (BRT) with the support of several international organisations.

The conference comes at a crucial time when more than one-third of shark and ray species in oceans around the world are threatened with extinction due to Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing, habitat loss and lack of conservation measures.

The Indian Ocean Region (IOR) surrounding Sri Lanka is a global biodiversity hotspot, with approximately 105 recorded species of sharks and rays, only five of which are legally protected. These include reef sharks, hammerheads, whale sharks, guitar fishes, wedge fishes, manta rays, stingrays and sawfishes.

The conference focuses on global priorities for shark and ray conservation, including halting population decline, strengthening monitoring and enforcement systems and expanding Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and migratory corridors.

Source - Sunday Observer