WHY THE PROJECT EXISTS

The Elasmo Project was established in 2010 as a non-profit initiative based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), emerging from my early fieldwork and long-term engagement with shark and ray fisheries in the Arabian Sea and adjacent regions. The project was initially developed as the Gulf Elasmo Project, reflecting its early geographic focus, but expanded over time as similar patterns and challenges became evident elsewhere.

From the outset, the project developed in response to recurring gaps I encountered between conservation priorities, fisheries realities, and policy processes — particularly in contexts where sharks and rays are landed, traded, and utilised, yet remain poorly documented. It was not conceived as a purely academic initiative, but as a practical response to what was visible on the ground.

In many regions, sharks and rays are routinely captured across multiple fisheries but receive limited attention in monitoring programs, management frameworks, and conservation planning. This is particularly true in small-scale and artisanal fisheries, where landings are diverse, species identification is challenging, and data collection is often minimal or absent.

Early work under the Gulf Elasmo Project revealed a high diversity of sharks and rays being landed across the UAE and neighbouring countries, including Oman, Yemen, Pakistan, and Iran, much of which was not reflected in official statistics. Species of conservation concern were frequently present in catches, yet went undocumented, unassessed, or unrecognised within management systems. As the project expanded, similar gaps were identified in other regions, demonstrating that these challenges were not region-specific but widespread across understudied fisheries systems. The Elasmo Project evolved to address these recurring issues by documenting fisheries interactions, improving species-level understanding, and supporting the use of this information within conservation, management, and policy contexts.
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MISSION AND VISION

The mission of the Elasmo Project is to improve understanding and conservation of sharks and rays, particularly in data-poor contexts, by generating applied, field-based knowledge that can inform fisheries management, conservation planning, and policy implementation.

Its broader vision is one where sharks and rays are no longer marginal or invisible within fisheries and conservation systems. Instead, they are documented, understood, and explicitly considered within decision-making processes at local, national, and international levels. This vision recognises that conservation outcomes depend not only on scientific evidence, but on whether that evidence can be translated into realistic and enforceable measures.
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WHY SHARKS AND RAYS

Elasmobranchs — sharks and rays — comprise more than 1,250 species worldwide, occurring across marine and freshwater systems. Many of these species are characterised by slow growth, late maturity, and low reproductive output, making them particularly susceptible to fishing pressure.

Global assessments indicate that more than one third of shark and ray species are threatened with extinction, with overfishing identified as the primary driver of decline. In many regions, these pressures are intensified by limited species-level reporting, poor biological data, and incomplete understanding of how fisheries and trade affect different species.

In fisheries where sharks and rays are landed, catches are often aggregated or unrecorded, masking population trends and complicating efforts to assess risk or implement conservation measures. Addressing these information gaps has therefore been a central focus of the Elasmo Project.​
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development of the project

Following its initial focus in the Arabian Sea region, the Elasmo Project expanded geographically as similar challenges were identified elsewhere. Work was extended across multiple regions and multiple countries, including parts of the Western Indian Ocean, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Africa, reflecting the widespread nature of data gaps affecting shark and ray conservation.  

Over time, the scope of the project broadened beyond fisheries documentation to include trade dynamics, capacity building, and engagement with international conservation and fisheries frameworks. This evolution reflected growing recognition that data alone are insufficient to drive conservation outcomes, and that information must be integrated into governance and implementation processes.
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Despite this expansion, the core focus of the project has remained consistent: documenting overlooked species and interactions, and ensuring that this information can be used meaningfully within conservation and management systems.
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From documentation to application

A defining feature of the Elasmo Project has been its emphasis on application. Field-based research has been paired with the development of identification guides, technical resources, and training materials designed to support fisheries monitoring, management, and compliance.

These tools were developed in response to practical needs identified through direct engagement with fisheries officers, observers, enforcement personnel, and conservation practitioners. The aim has been to provide resources that can be integrated into existing systems and workflows, rather than producing outputs that can't be used in practice.
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This applied orientation reflects the understanding that effective conservation depends not only on evidence generation, but on whether that evidence can be translated into action within complex operational and governance contexts.