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Predator or prey? the ‘villains’ of the sea come under limelight
View(s):Sri Lanka hosts Sharks International 2026 conference as concern mounts for the future of the subclass elasmobranchii
By Malaka Rodrigo
This Sunday, Colombo will become the global centre of shark and ray research as scientists, conservationists, fisheries experts, and students from around the world gather for the Sharks International 2026 conference, the world’s largest scientific meeting dedicated to sharks, rays, and chimaeras. Hosted in Sri Lanka for the first time, the four-day conference at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) will highlight both the extraordinary diversity of these ancient marine animals and the growing threats they face in oceans worldwide.
For Sri Lanka, however, this global spotlight comes after a long journey of changing perceptions. Decades ago, sharks and rays attracted little scientific or public attention. “In the 1980s, I was invited to deliver a speech by a conservation organisation and asked to suggest a topic,” recalls Rex I De Silva, author of Sharks of Sri Lanka. “When I proposed speaking on Sri Lankan sharks, I was immediately told that no one is interested in sharks and asked to choose another subject.” At the time, sharks were seen as little more than dangerous or commercially useful fish, rather than important components of marine ecosystems.
But, as Mr. De Silva notes, attitudes have changed. “Today, I am pleased to see that the wheel has turned full circle. There is now growing interest in sharks and their conservation among naturalists as well as the general public. Hosting an international conference like Sharks International in Sri Lanka will further strengthen that awareness,” he told the Sunday Times.
Sharks and rays belong to a group of fishes known as elasmobranchs, a subclass of cartilaginous fishes whose skeletons are made of cartilage rather than bone. This group includes sharks, rays, skates, sawfishes, and chimaeras. These animals are evolutionary survivors, having existed for more than 400 million years, long before dinosaurs appeared on Earth.
Their biological design is both ancient and highly specialised. Sharks possess highly refined sensory systems, including the ability to detect faint vibrations, trace amounts of blood in water, and even the weak electrical fields produced by other organisms. Their skin is covered with tiny tooth-like structures called dermal denticles, which reduce drag and allow efficient movement through water. Unlike most fishes, sharks continuously replace their teeth throughout life. Many species function as apex predators, helping regulate marine food webs and maintain ecological balance.
Despite their fearsome reputation in popular culture, scientists emphasise that sharks are not mindless killers. “Sharks are apex predators with specialised hunting adaptations, but they are not the bloodthirsty, human-seeking creatures portrayed in films like Jaws,” says Mr. De Silva. “Most incidents involving humans are cases of mistaken identity or rare encounters.”
Yet the reality facing sharks today is far more concerning than their cinematic image. Annually, around 10 human fatalities are reported due to shark attacks globally, but in contrast humans kill around 100 million sharks every year according to a study published in 2024. That is approximately 274,000 sharks per day, over 11,000 per hour, and nearly three every second. A recent assessment by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) suggests that about one-third of all shark and ray species worldwide are now threatened with extinction.
One of the main reasons for this vulnerability lies in their biology. Sharks are slow-growing, late-maturing animals that produce very few offspring compared to most bony fishes. “Because of their slow reproductive rate, shark populations cannot recover quickly once they are depleted,” explains Mr. De Silva. “Overfishing can therefore have long-lasting impacts on their populations.”
Sri Lanka is home to 62 shark species with 6 more unconfirmed species according to the Shark Checklist compiled by Mr. De Silva in 2025. Sharks range from small reef-dwelling sharks to large oceanic species such as Whale Sharks, Tiger Sharks, Hammerhead Sharks, and Blue Sharks. In fact, the whale shark is the largest fish in the world (the Blue whale being a Marine Mammal) and having them in our waters is fascinating.
The rise in demand for shark fins in East Asian markets has also had devastating consequences. This demand led to the practice of shark finning, where fins are cut off and the still-living animal is discarded back into the ocean. In response, Sri Lanka introduced a ban on shark finning in 2001, requiring sharks to be landed with fins naturally attached.
Further conservation measures followed. Sri Lanka has prohibited the capture of five highly threatened shark species: the Oceanic Whitetip Shark, Whale Shark, and three species of thresher sharks—Common, Bigeye, and Pelagic Thresher Sharks. However, enforcement challenges remain, and some studies suggest that illegal or unreported catches of these protected species still occur.
Sri Lanka has also participated actively in global conservation frameworks such as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), supporting international trade restrictions on threatened sharks and rays. “Sri Lanka has contributed positively to global efforts under CITES, and been proponents of many proposals aimed at protecting sharks and rays” says Ranjan Marasinghe, Director General of the Department of Wildlife Conservation.
While sharks have received increasing attention, their close relatives—the rays and skates—have remained less visible in conservation discussions, despite facing equally severe threats. Sri Lanka’s waters host more than 50 species of rays and skates, including stingrays, manta rays, devil rays, guitarfishes, wedgefishes, eagle rays, electric rays, and skates. These species occupy diverse habitats ranging from shallow coastal waters to deeper offshore zones.
However, many ray species are now in serious decline due to overfishing, bycatch in tuna fisheries, habitat destruction, and international trade in ray products such as gill plates. Studies indicate that a significant proportion of Sri Lanka’s ray species are globally threatened, with wedgefishes, guitarfishes, and mobulid rays ranked among the most endangered groups of marine fishes worldwide, says Daniel Fernando, co-founder of Blue Resources Trust.
Among the most iconic yet threatened species is the giant manta ray (Mobula birostris), one of the ocean’s true gentle giants. Once regularly observed in Sri Lankan waters, manta rays are now increasingly rare due to targeted fishing and bycatch, making Sri Lanka one of the important regions for their decline in the Indian Ocean.
Even more alarming is the fate of sawfishes, distinctive rays with elongated, tooth-lined snouts, says Mr. Fernando. Once found in estuaries and shallow coastal waters, sawfishes are now considered functionally extinct or extremely rare in Sri Lanka, primarily due to overfishing and the loss of critical mangrove and coastal habitats, Mr. Fernando told the Sunday Times.
Against this backdrop, the hosting of Sharks International 2026 in Colombo is seen as a landmark moment. The conference, held from May 4 to 8 at BMICH, will bring together leading experts in shark and ray biology, fisheries science, ecology, genetics, conservation policy, and marine management. The Blue Resources Trust host and organise the Shark International 2026, with support from several other organisations funding it. According to Fernando, this is the first time the conference is being held in Asia, a region that holds some of the world’s most threatened elasmobranch populations and most complex fisheries challenges.
Organisers hope the event will strengthen regional scientific collaboration, improve data sharing, and encourage stronger conservation policies across the Indian Ocean. For Sri Lanka, it also provides a valuable opportunity to showcase local research and highlight the country’s global importance as a biodiversity hotspot for sharks and rays.
As scientists gather in Colombo this week, one message is becoming increasingly clear. Sharks and rays have survived five mass extinctions over hundreds of millions of years, yet the pressures created by modern human activity, particularly industrial fishing may now pose their greatest challenge. Without urgent and coordinated conservation action, some of the ocean’s most ancient and ecologically important species could disappear from Sri Lanka’s seas within our lifetime, Mr. Fernando warns.
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