Daniel Fernando

Blue Resources Trust · Fisheries and Policy Programme

Global reporting and monitoring systems of catch rates of Chondrichthyans in small-scale fisheries in developing countries are scarce, resulting in a paucity of data regarding population dynamics. This deficiency represents a significant obstacle to the development of effective management strategies, as evidenced by the diverse and intense fishing...

Many shark populations are in decline around the world, with severe ecological and economic consequences. Fisheries management and marine protected areas (MPAs) have both been heralded as solutions. However, the effectiveness of MPAs alone is questionable, particularly for globally threatened sharks and rays (‘elasmobranchs’), with little known abo...

The bowmouth guitarfish ( Rhina ancylostomus ) is a unique and relatively understudied species of wedgefish with a distribution spanning the Indo-Pacific Oceans. Due to targeted and bycatch fisheries, this species is experiencing serious declines across its range. It is now considered among the most threatened species of elasmobranch. Despite this,...

The deep ocean is the last natural biodiversity refuge from the reach of human activities. Deepwater sharks and rays are among the most sensitive marine vertebrates to overexploitation. One-third of threatened deepwater sharks are targeted, and half the species targeted for the international liver-oil trade are threatened with extinction. Steep pop...

Understanding population connectivity and genetic diversity is of fundamental importance to conservation. However, in globally threatened marine megafauna, challenges remain due to their elusive nature and wide-ranging distributions. As overexploitation continues to threaten biodiversity across the globe, such knowledge gaps compromise both the sui...

Understanding population connectivity and genetic diversity is of fundamental importance to conservation. However, in globally threatened marine megafauna, challenges remain due to their elusive nature and wide-ranging distributions. As overexploitation continues to threaten biodiversity across the globe, such knowledge gaps compromise both the sui...

A global survey of coral reefs reveals that overfishing is driving resident shark species toward extinction, causing diversity deficits in reef elasmobranch (shark and ray) assemblages. Our species level analysis revealed global declines of 60 to 73% for five common resident reef shark species and that individual shark species were not detected at...

Abstract The Bull Shark (Carcharhinus leucas) faces varying levels of exploitation around the world due to its coastal distribution. Information regarding population connectivity is crucial to evaluate its conservation status and local fishing impacts. In this study, we sampled 922 putative Bull Sharks from 19 locations in the first global assessme...

Sharks and rays are key functional components of coral reef ecosystems, yet many populations of a few species exhibit signs of depletion and local extinctions. The question is whether these declines forewarn of a global extinction crisis. We use IUCN Red List to quantify the status, trajectory, and threats to all coral reef sharks and rays worldwid...

The blue shark Prionace glauca is a top predator with one of the widest geographic distributions of any shark species. It is classified as Critically Endangered in the Mediterranean Sea, and Near Threatened globally. Previous genetic studies did not reject the null hypothesis of a single global population. The blue shark was proposed as a possible...

Understanding the population structure of a species is important to accurately assess its conservation status and manage the risk of local extinction. The Bull Shark ( Carcharhinus leucas ) faces varying levels of exploitation around the world due to its coastal distribution. Information regarding population connectivity is crucial to evaluate its...

The blue shark Prionace glauca is a top predator with one of the widest geographic distributions of any shark species, yet classified as critically endangered in the Mediterranean Sea, and Near Threatened globally. Previous genetic studies did not reject the null hypothesis of a single global population across the worldwide species range. Blue shar...

The scale and drivers of marine biodiversity loss are being revealed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List assessment process. We present the first global reassessment of 1,199 species in Class Chondrichthyes—sharks, rays, and chimeras. The first global assessment (in 2014) concluded that one-quarter (24%) of species...

Background Expanding fisheries in developing nations like Sri Lanka have a significant impact on threatened marine species such as elasmobranchs. Manta and devil (mobulid) rays have some of the most conservative life history strategies of any elasmobranch, and even low to moderate levels of bycatch from gillnet fisheries may lead to significant pop...

The scale and drivers of marine biodiversity loss are being revealed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List assessment process. We present the first global reassessment of 1,199 species in Class Chondrichthyes—sharks, rays, and chimeras. The first global assessment (in 2014) concluded that one-quarter (24%) of species...

• All five species of sawfishes (family Pristidae) are amongst the most threatened marine fishes in the world, with steep population declines and local extinctions documented across their ranges. • Sawfishes have featured in Sri Lankan species checklists since 1889. However, landing records are extremely rare and little information is available on...

Wedgefishes (Rhinidae), giant guitarfishes (Glaucostegidae), and guitarfishes (Rhinobatidae) are referred to as 'shark-like' rays due to their morphology that closely resembles sharks. The objective of this study was to assess the diversity of these species and their status in Sri Lankan waters. This study has identified two species of wedgefishes...

Examination of seven specimens of an undescribed species of bamboo shark (Orectolobiformes: Hemiscylliidae), currently referred to as Chiloscyllium sp. 1, from Sri Lanka yielded three new species of 'tetraphyllidean' cestodes, one each in the genera Carpobothrium Shipley et Hornell, 1906, Spiniloculus Southwell, 1925, and Yorkeria Southwell, 1927....

Overfishing is the primary cause of marine defaunation, yet declines in and increasing extinction risks of individual species are difficult to measure, particularly for the largest predators found in the high seas. Here we calculate two well-established indicators to track progress towards Aichi Biodiversity Targets and Sustainable Development Goal...

Abstract Mobula mobular, a mobulid species once considered a Mediterranean Sea endemic, has received its common name “giant devil ray” based on repeated misidentifications of oceanic manta rays, Mobula birostris, that had strayed into the Mediterranean, where they had never been reported from before. Based on the maximum known size (350 cm disc wid...

Practical biodiversity conservation relies on delineation of biologically meaningful units. Manta and devil rays (Mobulidae) are threatened worldwide, yet morphological similarities and a succession of recent taxonomic changes impede the development of an effective conservation strategy. Here, we generate genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism...

An Amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

The blue shark Prionace glauca is a cosmopolitan species that inhabits all oceans worldwide except the poles. Several IUCN regional assessments have classified it as Near Threatened, mostly due to overfishing. Previous genetic studies that have used classical genetic markers failed to reject the hypothesis that the species is a single worldwide pop...

The blue shark Prionace glauca is a cosmopolitan species that inhabits all oceans worldwide except the poles. Several IUCN regional assessments have classified it as Near Threatened, mostly due to overfishing. Previous genetic studies that have used classical genetic markers failed to reject the hypothesis that the species is a single worldwide pop...

Decades of overexploitation have devastated shark populations, leaving considerable doubt as to their ecological status1,2. Yet much of what is known about sharks has been inferred from catch records in industrial fisheries, whereas far less information is available about sharks that live in coastal habitats³. Here we address this knowledge gap usi...

Mobulids are listed on Appendix I and II of CMS (Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species) and Appendix II of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora). However, there is an increasing demand for mobulids due to their highly valued gill plates in Hong Kong and Chinese markets. As a result, th...

Silky shark (Carcharhinus falciformis) was the most harvested shark species in Sri Lanka until 2017. Anecdotal fisheries information indicates a reduction in both numbers and size of C. falciformis harvested in Sri Lanka. However, published data on catch statistics of C. falciformis is limited in Sri Lanka and a long-term fisheries data is essentia...

The longhorned pygmy devil ray Mobula eregoodoo (Cantor, 1849), formerly known as Mobula eregoodootenkee (Bleeker, 1859), is a small mobulid with a disc reaching a maximum width of 1.3 m, widely ranging in tropical and subtropical latitudes across the Indian Ocean, the Indo‐Pacific region, and the western Pacific Ocean. A recently emerged opportuni...

Sharks are a group of elasmobranch fish forming the top of the marine food chain, making them integral to healthy ecosystems. The primary driving factor for shark fisheries is demand for their fins, however, liver oil trade and domestic meat consumption are also contributory factors. Most elasmobranchs are long lived, slow growing, late to mature a...

Identities of elasmobranchs from Sri Lanka encountered during collections conducted in an intensive nine-day survey of fish markets and landing sites at 11 localities in the North Western, Northern, and Eastern Provinces in March of 2018 were assessed. In total, 111 specimens representing 34 elasmobranch species were examined. Sequence data for the...

Practical biodiversity conservation relies on delineation of meaningful units, particularly with respect to global conventions and regulatory frameworks. Species delimitation methods have been revolutionised with the advent of next-generation sequencing approaches, allowing diversity within species radiations to be assessed with genome-wide data. M...

Manta and devil rays are filter-feeding elasmobranchs that are found circumglobally in tropical and subtropical waters. Although relatively understudied for most of the Twentieth century, public awareness and scientific research on these species has increased dramatically in recent years. Much of this attention has been in response to targeted fish...

Mobulids are globally threatened with the risk of extinction due to high levels of bycatch and direct exploitation throughout their range. In addition, the concern about mobulid products being internationally traded has resulted in all species being listed on CITES Appendix II. At its 22 nd session, the IOTC decided not to adopt conservation and ma...

The extinction risk of sharks, rays and chimaeras is higher than that for most other vertebrates due to low intrinsic population growth rates of many species and the fishing intensity they face. The Arabian Sea and adjacent waters border some of the most important chondrichthyan fishing and trading nations globally, yet there has been no previous a...

Fisheries are a major economic activity and source of livelihood for most coastal communities in northern Sri Lanka. National and district level information of elasmobranch fisheries are very limited; however it is known that many elasmobranchs encountered in Sri Lanka have low reproductive potential. Growing global demand for shark fins, mobulid g...

Little is known about the giant devil ray (Mobula mobular), an endangered species endemic to the Mediterranean. Gaza is the only region where this species is targeted, hence, this fishery was studied to address the knowledge gap on fishery interactions, species behavior, and life-history traits. Devil rays have been frequenting this maritime area f...

This study presents the first record of Halodule pinifolia on the eastern coast of Sri Lanka, approximately 310 km along the coastline from the previously recorded location (Kapparathota, Weligama). Further, this study describes the new locality of the nationally endangered seagrass species Halophila beccarii to Valaichchenai Lagoon, 26.5 km north...

Mobulid rays, a group of closely related filter-feeders, are threatened globally by bycatch and targeted fisheries. Their habitat use and feeding ecology are not well studied, and most efforts have focused on temporally limited stomach content analysis or inferences from tagging data. Previous studies demonstrate a variety of different diving behav...

Background International trade for luxury products, medicines, and tonics poses a threat to both terrestrial and marine wildlife. The demand for and consumption of gill plates (known as Peng Yu Sai , “Fish Gill of Mobulid Ray”) from devil and manta rays (subfamily Mobulinae, collectively referred to as mobulids) poses a significant threat to these...

Manta and devil rays of the subfamily Mobulinae (mobulids) are rarely studied, large, pelagic elasmobranchs, with all eight of well‐evaluated species listed on the IUCN Red List as threatened or near threatened. Mobulids have life history characteristics (matrotrophic reproduction, extremely low fecundity, and delayed age of first reproduction) tha...

Information on the movements and population connectivity of the oceanic manta ray (Manta birostris) is scarce. The species has been anecdotally classified as a highly migratory species based on the pelagic habitats it often occupies , and migratory behavior exhibited by similar species. As a result, in the absence of ecological data, population dec...