South Africa supports exceptional shark and ray diversity, including many threatened and endemic species. The iSimangaliso Marine Protected Area, within South Africa’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site, provides important habitat for these species and is particularly significant for ragged-tooth sharks, whose females gather in its warm inshore waters during pregnancy.

Although iSimangaliso is already protected, fishing remains permitted in some zones. Sharks and rays can therefore still be harmed through targeted recreational fishing, catch-and-release practices and incidental capture in other fisheries.

We are supporting WildTrust’s WildOceans programme to work with government, the protected-area authority and other stakeholders to strengthen fishing regulations within the MPA. The project aims to prohibit the targeting of sharks and rays throughout the area, introduce restrictions on fishing gear that can increase injury and mortality, and establish a 25 km² fully protected inshore sanctuary.

The proposed gear restrictions would also help reduce the incidental capture of sharks and rays across approximately 5,970 km² of offshore habitat. Alongside pursuing these regulatory changes, WildOceans will support awareness, compliance training and monitoring to help assess whether the new protections are reducing shark and ray mortality.