{
  "id": 9473726,
  "title": "Sharks often swim across national borders. Our conservation efforts must travel with them",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/24/sharks-often-swim-across-national-borders-our-conservation-efforts",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-09-24T01:58:22.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Conversation AU",
    "slug": "the-conversation-au",
    "url": "https://theconversation.com/sharks-often-swim-across-national-borders-our-conservation-efforts-must-travel-with-them-291978"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Sharks and rays traverse national borders during their migrations for a variety of reasons, such as seeking food, giving birth, or finding more suitable environmental conditions. Recent research has found that many shark and ray species migrate across international waters, travelling vast distances. For example, a white shark swam nearly 11,000 kilometres from South Africa to Western Australia, and whale sharks migrate thousands of kilometres beyond Australian waters, traveling into Indonesia. However, there are significant gaps in our understanding of these species' movements, particularly regarding whether they cross national borders. Our new study analyzed 30 years of shark and ray movement studies and identified 29 shark and ray species that migrate across international borders. Unfortunately, only five species had published studies demonstrating movements between Australian waters and those of other countries. This lack of information about the movements of 18 species means we don't know if they migrate long distances or cross national boundaries. To address this issue, Australia should collaborate with neighboring countries like Indonesia, Timor-Leste, Papua New Guinea, and the wider Pacific region to collect data on these species' movements. This collaboration will require sharing tracking technology and expertise, as conducting these studies can be costly and challenging, particularly in remote areas. Additionally, research should prioritize the 18 species with little-known movement patterns, with a particular focus on Australia and New Zealand working together to support coordinated conservation efforts.",
  "summary": "Sharks and rays have been swimming through the oceans for millions of years – but we still don’t really know where.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}