{"id":223042,"date":"2025-10-02T14:21:27","date_gmt":"2025-10-03T00:21:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=223042"},"modified":"2025-10-02T14:21:27","modified_gmt":"2025-10-03T00:21:27","slug":"deep-sea-mining-threats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2025\/10\/02\/deep-sea-mining-threats\/","title":{"rendered":"Sharks, rays, chimaeras further threatened by deep-sea mining"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
\"pygmy
Pygmy Shark, the world\u2019s second smallest shark species. (Photo credit: Blue Planet Archive \/ Masa Ushioda)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The habitat of 30 species of sharks, rays and chimaeras, also called ghost sharks, overlap with areas where proposed deep-sea mining may occur, according to new research<\/a> led by University of Hawaiʻi<\/span> at Mānoa oceanographers. Nearly two-thirds of these species are already threatened with extinction due to human impacts, so deep-sea mining, which will disrupt the seafloor and discharge large plumes of sediment into the water above, has the potential to elevate their extinction risk.<\/p>\n

“Deep-sea mining is a new potential threat to this group of animals which are both vital in the ocean ecosystem and to human culture and identity,” said Aaron Judah, lead author of the study and oceanography<\/a> graduate student in the 糖心视频<\/abbr> Mānoa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology<\/a> (SOEST<\/abbr>). “By identifying and calling attention to this threat and recommending potential conservation pathways, I hope we will be better positioned to support healthy shark, ray, and chimaera populations into the future.”<\/p>\n

Iconic and lesser known species<\/h2>\n

Judah collaborated with an international team of experts to overlay the global maps of species ranges created by the International Union for Conservation of Nature Shark Specialist Group with contract areas and reserved areas allocated for deep-sea mining by the International Seabed Authority. The researchers also accounted for how each species reproduces and how deep they dive in order to estimate their vulnerability to mining impacts. For example, species such as skates and chimaeras lay eggs on the seafloor and therefore mining vehicles could pose a threat to nurseries.<\/p>\n

The species they assessed included iconic examples such as the whale shark, manta rays and the megamouth shark, and also many lesser known species, such as the pygmy shark, chocolate skate and small-eyed rabbit fish, which comes from a unique group of cartilaginous fishes similar to sharks and rays, sometimes called ghost sharks.<\/p>\n

The team discovered that 30 species could be impacted by discharge plumes and 25 of the 30 species could also be impacted by seafloor disruptions associated with mining. They also found that because many of the species inhabit a variety of habitats along the depth range or are deep divers, mining impacts may overlap more than half of the depth range of 17 species.<\/p>\n

Assessing risk<\/h2>\n

Deep-sea mining is set to potentially occur in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, which is a large abyssal plain area that spans from the waters around Hawaiʻi<\/span> into the eastern Pacific Ocean. To make the best management decisions, the potential impacts on marine life and the communities that depend on them must be known.<\/p>\n

“Sharks and their relatives are the second most threatened vertebrate group on the planet, mostly from overfishing,” said Jeff Drazen, study senior author and professor of oceanography at SOEST<\/abbr>. “Because of their vulnerability, they should be considered in ongoing discussions of the environmental risks from deep-sea mining, and those responsible for monitoring their health should be aware that mining could pose an additional risk.”<\/p>\n

The authors offer a number of recommendations to improve conservation of these species under the footprint of mining, such as establishing monitoring programs, including them in environmental impact assessments, and creating protected areas. These recommendations could be adopted by the International Seabed Authority in their regulations for creating environmental impact assessments, or by contractors in executing scientific baseline assessments.<\/p>\n

For more information, see SOEST<\/abbr>‘s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The habitat of 30 species of sharks, rays, and chimaeras, also called ghost sharks, overlap with areas where proposed deep-sea mining may occur.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":223037,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[1363,107,158,92,9],"class_list":["post-223042","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research","tag-manoa-research","tag-oceanography","tag-publication","tag-school-of-ocean-and-earth-science-and-technology","tag-uh-manoa","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t