Northern Ireland has published its first dedicated conservation strategy for sharks, skates and rays, setting out a ten-year framework to halt the decline of these threatened marine species. The Elasmobranch Conservation Strategy for Northern Ireland 2026-2035, published by DAERA Minister Andrew Muir, sets out eight strategic actions and a detailed action plan covering 12 priority species.
However, the strategy has no dedicated budget, and most of its actions have no deadlines. DAERA says it has not set SMART timeframes because delivery depends on partners and funding availability varies.
Why These Species Matter
Sharks, skates and rays, collectively known as elasmobranchs, help to regulate marine ecosystems, and DAERA says their loss has knock-on effects throughout the marine environment. According to the Department, populations have been declining globally since the 1950s, driven by overfishing, bycatch, habitat degradation, the illegal fin trade and climate change. A 2024 study published in Science found that overfishing has halved global shark and ray populations since 1970, with around a third of species now threatened with extinction.
Many elasmobranchs are long-lived and slow to reproduce, which makes recovery slow. The strategy notes that Spurdog, for example, can be pregnant for up to 22 months.
Northern Ireland’s waters form part of an Irish Sea migratory corridor linking Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, and support the Critically Endangered Common (Flapper) Skate. The Antrim Coast has also been identified as an Important Shark and Ray Area through a project led by the IUCN Shark Specialist Group. The area qualifies for Spurdog, and there are further indications that it matters for Flapper Skate aggregations and Blackmouth Catshark reproduction.
Some species have already disappeared from local records. DAERA says the Angel shark has gone unrecorded in Northern Ireland waters for decades. Northern Ireland’s Priority Species database lists six historical records between 1890 and 1945, and none in recent times.
What the Strategy Contains
The strategy covers the 12 elasmobranch species on the Northern Ireland Priority Species list, split into two groups:
- Management (eight species): better-studied species that get targeted conservation actions, including Basking shark, Flapper skate, Porbeagle, Spurdog and Tope.
- Monitoring (four species): data-poor species, including Angel shark and White skate, which can be moved into management as evidence improves.
The eight strategic actions are grouped into four themes:
- Governance and strategic oversight: establish an inclusive governance structure to oversee the action plan, set SMART timeframes where possible and review the strategy over time.
- Evidence and knowledge base: establish population baselines for the priority species and publish their current state; identify and publish the threats and pressures they face.
- Conservation measures and mitigation: develop options to strengthen protection; develop, implement and evaluate measures to reduce bycatch and entanglement; raise awareness of the Department’s enforcement powers and promote joint working on compliance.
- Communication: review and improve how wildlife interactions are managed; raise awareness of elasmobranchs among all water users.
By 2035, DAERA says the strategy will deliver:
- high-resolution distribution maps for the priority species;
- maps showing where human pressures overlap with those species;
- more public involvement through citizen science;
- best-practice guidance for water users;
- investment in bycatch reduction projects.
The strategy was developed through a “co-design” process involving government, academia, industry and environmental organisations. It was also informed by a public consultation that ran from 23 September to 16 December 2024. Minister Muir was pictured at Portrush Coastal Zone with representatives of Queen’s University, Ulster Wildlife and the NI Marine Taskforce, which contributed to the strategy’s development.
Launching the strategy, Minister Muir said:
“Our sharks, skates and rays are truly awe-inspiring species that generate a sense of wonderment in our coasts and seas. They play a vital part in creating healthier and more sustainable marine ecosystems and we must do more to protect them.
“This strategy sets out a clear programme of action over the next decade and demonstrates my Department’s commitment to reversing declining trends in our marine environment. Through ongoing partnership, we will work to implement these actions, build our evidence base and ensure that Northern Ireland plays its part in protecting and recovering these important species.
“The collaboration that has shaped this strategy gives me confidence that we can achieve lasting benefits for sharks, skates and rays, while strengthening the health and resilience of our seas for generations to come.”
Critical Gaps and Unanswered Questions
No dedicated budget: The strategy sets no budget for its ten-year lifespan. Instead, it points to existing grant schemes:
- the DAERA Environment Fund;
- the Marine, Environment and Fisheries Fund (MEFF), whose Scheme 3 was widened in 2026 to cover this strategy and the Seabird Conservation Strategy;
- work packages under the PEACEPLUS-funded MOSAIC project.
The strategy describes funding as essential to delivering its conservation measures. None of these sources is ring-fenced for it, and DAERA itself cites variable funding as a reason for not setting SMART timeframes.
Few firm deadlines: Only a handful of the detailed actions carry dates:
- re-establish the Elasmobranch Conservation Working Group within six months of publication;
- by 2028, analyse abundance trends for each species;
- by 2028, review species vulnerability assessments;
- by 2028, review best practice for wildlife ecotourism;
- by 2032, evaluate previously funded bycatch mitigation projects.
Timeframes for the remaining actions are left for the Working Group to set.
Options rather than commitments: Several key actions are framed as developing options or raising awareness rather than introducing new measures. Strategic Action 4 commits only to developing options to strengthen protection. The enforcement action focuses on communicating existing legislation and enforcement powers rather than creating new ones. The strategy’s stated aim is to develop management guidance to support conservation measures. Responding to the draft, Fair Seas argued that the strategy should aim to deliver actual conservation and management measures, not just guidance.
Accountability: Delivery partners will report progress at annual Working Group meetings, and the Marine Nature Recovery Oversight Group will publish annual progress reports against Environmental Improvement Plan targets. A formal review is scheduled for 2030. However, the strategy does not say what happens if actions stall or targets are missed.
An ageing evidence base: The strategy names a 2009 position statement, produced by AFBI for the Northern Ireland Environment Agency, as the best available baseline for elasmobranch numbers and distribution in Northern Ireland. It also acknowledges key knowledge gaps, including where nursery areas and migratory routes are and how local species are distributed.
Marine protection: No Marine Conservation Zones are designated specifically for elasmobranchs. The strategy says some species may benefit indirectly from other measures, such as the ban on mobile bottom fishing in nine inshore Marine Protected Areas, in force since January 2023.
Under the Wildlife (Northern Ireland) Order 1985, Angel shark, Basking shark and Flapper skate are protected at all times, but protection for Angel shark and Flapper skate only extends to six nautical miles from the coast. Fair Seas also criticised the draft for giving little detail on how the protected area network could be expanded to benefit elasmobranchs. The final strategy contains no specific commitment to do so.
Fishing industry impacts: The strategy separates wildlife species from commercially fished ones such as Spurdog and Thornback ray. It includes best-practice advice for commercial fishers, including avoiding known bycatch hotspots and reporting all elasmobranch bycatch to DAERA. It also points to BatMap, a bycatch avoidance tool developed with skippers on Scotland’s west coast, as something that could be adopted here if it proves successful. It does not, however, assess how future conservation measures might affect the fishing sector financially.
Broader Context
Northern Ireland has five Marine Conservation Zones in its inshore region, alongside other national and international designations. In a 2021 consultation response, Ulster Wildlife said only 4.8% of the area of Northern Ireland’s marine protected sites was under favourable management, a figure that predates the 2023 fishing restrictions.
The strategy is intended to support wider commitments, including:
- the OSPAR North-East Atlantic Environment Strategy 2030;
- the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework;
- the UK Joint Fisheries Statement;
- the Defra-led Bycatch Mitigation Initiative.
Northern Ireland’s Environmental Improvement Plan set a target to develop and consult on an elasmobranch strategy by 2024. The consultation met that target, but the final strategy has only now been published, almost two years later.
Questions for Stakeholders
- Will any funding be ring-fenced for the strategy, and how much has been awarded to elasmobranch projects through MEFF and the Environment Fund so far?
- When will the Working Group set timeframes for the remaining actions, and will these be published?
- Which options to strengthen protection are being considered, and could they include protected areas designated for elasmobranchs?
- Will Wildlife Order protection for Angel shark and Flapper skate be extended beyond six nautical miles?
- How will the strategy be coordinated with authorities in the Republic of Ireland and Scotland, given that the populations it covers cross those boundaries?
- Will the 2028 trend analysis replace the 2009 position statement as the main evidence base?
What Happens Next
The first milestone is re-establishing the Elasmobranch Conservation Working Group, which is due to publish its terms of reference and governance structure within six months. Annual progress reports are expected through the Marine Nature Recovery Oversight Group, with a formal review in 2030.
The full strategy is available on the DAERA website. It follows the Northern Ireland Seabird Conservation Strategy, published earlier this year, and both strategies will now compete for support from the same MEFF funding scheme.
The strategy sets out a clear framework and a much-needed structure for joint working. Whether it delivers real recovery will depend on whether its options become firm measures, whether funding follows, and whether the Working Group sets and publishes meaningful deadlines.