The first time you look at a map of the Mediterranean, the Adriatic Sea can seem easy to overlook. Tucked between the Italian Peninsula and the Balkan coast, it appears as a narrow arm of water branching off a much larger sea. Yet beneath its surface lies one of the most important regions for sharks and rays in Europe.

Within a relatively compact area, it contains shallow coastal waters, estuaries, muddy seafloors, seagrass meadows, rocky reefs, sandy habitats, deep-sea canyons, and pits that plunge into inky depths below the surface. This diversity creates opportunities for an equally diverse community of sharks and rays. Some species depend on shallow coastal zones as feeding grounds and nurseries. Others seek refuge in the deeper reaches of the basin. The southern Adriatic, particularly around the Strait of Otranto, also serves as a critical connection between the Adriatic and the wider Mediterranean, allowing animals to move between regions and populations. This makes the Adriatic far more than a small corner of the Mediterranean and instead a place where ancient predators navigate a remarkable mosaic of habitats that scientists are still working to understand.

Researchers like Emina Karalic, Laboratory Coordinator at Sharklab ADRIA Research Center.

“What makes the Adriatic especially interesting is that it still holds many surprises. Although it has been studied for decades, we continue to document important habitats, rare species, reproductive evidence, and records that change what we thought we knew about sharks and rays in this region. Our recent publications (some seen here , here , and here ) for example has reshaped what we though we know about elasmobranch in this region for decades,” she said via an e-mail interview. These discoveries are especially important because Mediterranean sharks and rays are among the most threatened marine vertebrates on Earth. More than 75 species have been recorded across the Mediterranean, and our long-term monitoring efforts in the Adriatic alone have documented over 300,000 individual sharks and rays representing 35 species. Alarmingly, nearly half of those species fall into threatened or critically endangered categories on the IUCN Red List.

Behind those classifications are dramatic population declines; some species have experienced reductions of more than 96 and even 99.99 percent over the last several decades . For animals that grow slowly, mature late, and produce relatively few offspring, recovery can take decades or may never occur without intervention. These biological traits have helped sharks and rays survive for hundreds of millions of years, but they also make them particularly vulnerable to modern human pressures. The greatest threat? Overfishing, particularly bycatch . Sharks and rays are frequently caught unintentionally in trawls, longlines, and other fishing gear. Illegal and poorly monitored fishing activities continue to add pressure in parts of the Mediterranean, although “fishing pressure in the Mediterranean and Black Sea has fallen by around 50 percent since 2013, while overfished stocks have reached their lowest recorded level,” according to the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) . Yet another challenge receives far less attention: the lack of reliable data.

Conservation decisions are only as good as the information behind them. If scientists do not know where animals reproduce, where juveniles grow, how populations are changing, or which habitats are most important, conservation measures can miss the mark. In many regions, management decisions are still based on incomplete or outdated information. “Without high-quality long-term data, it is very difficult to understand the real status of populations or to direct conservation measures where they are most urgently needed. This is why continuous and properly designed monitoring is essential,” explains Karalic. Unlike short-term projects that provide only a snapshot, long-term monitoring allows scientists to observe trends across years. Changes in abundance, distribution, behavior, and survival often occur gradually and a single field season may miss them entirely. “It is not only about recording which species are present, but about understanding how their populations are changing, where key habitats are located, which life stages are most vulnerable, and how fisheries are affecting them. Only with this kind of evidence can we make conservation decisions that are effective, realistic, and scientifically grounded.”

Karalic recently presented at the 8th GEF Assembly in Samarkand to “give a voice not only to the sharks and rays of the Adriatic Sea, but also to the people working every day on the front lines of nature conservation.” While conservation is often framed as a conflict between protecting wildlife and protecting livelihoods, the reality is far more complex. Fishers are sometimes portrayed as obstacles to conservation goals yet it is these same people who possess decades of firsthand knowledge about marine ecosystems, noticing changes in catches, seasonal patterns, species appearances, and habitat conditions long before those changes appear in scientific datasets. It is for this reason that Karalic and her colleagues in the Adriatic have chosen to build partnerships with fishing communities rather than treat them as adversaries. Instead of beginning with restrictions and regulations, they began with conversations. Fishers were asked how the sea had changed during their careers and many shared the same observation: there are fewer fish today than there were decades ago.

Today, the scientists spend significant time in fishing ports and at sea, working alongside fishers. They provide training on species identification, safe handling practices, and techniques for releasing live sharks and rays whenever possible. Just as importantly, scientists listen ton the fishers, whose observations frequently help generate research questions and guide scientific investigations. The results of this collaboration have been remarkable: voluntary participation from fishing communities has contributed to the rediscovery of rare species , the identification of important nursery habitats, and the collection of data that has led to numerous scientific publications. In many cases, fishers now actively contact researchers when they encounter unusual or significant species. And perhaps even more encouraging is the shift in perception, says Karalic. Sharks and rays have long suffered from reputations shaped by fear and misunderstanding. Through education and direct experience, many fishers have come to view these animals differently. Rather than seeing them as threats or nuisances, they increasingly recognize them as important components of healthy marine ecosystems.

This collaboration in the Adriatic is a blueprint that can easily extend far beyond the Mediterranean as all around the world, conservationists face similar challenges (i.e., habitat loss, limited funding, insufficient long-term monitoring, and growing pressure on natural resources). Yet the Sharklab ADRIA team demonstrates that effective conservation does not require choosing between people and wildlife. Instead, Karalic says, “the truth is that the strongest results come when scientific methods are combined with the lived experience of people who have known the sea their whole lives. For me, that combination has deeply shaped the way I approach both research and conservation.”

Looking ahead, the challenge lies not only in understanding how shark and ray populations will cope with a rapidly changing ocean but also in identifying habitats that may have been overlooked for decades. “Every new study shows that these animals still hold many secrets about their biology, reproduction, behavior, and especially survival strategies following encounter with fisheries,” says Karalic. “Perhaps this is exactly what motivates me the most — the realization that, despite years of research, there is still so much we do not know.”

If the Adriatic Sea has shown us anything, it’s that even after decades of study, nature still has surprises in store.