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Data on chondrichthyan (sharks, rays, and chimaeras) populations is largely lacking for many countries and territories in the Indo-Pacific. Aims. This study aims to provide a desktop review and information synthesis of the biodiversity, threats, and conservation of chondrichthyans in the Samoan archipelago (Samoa and American Samoa), focusing on their interactions with fisheries and exploring their social, cultural, and economic values. Methods.

Accurate baseline data for wildlife populations are important to track trends of these

Tonga’s Special Management Areas (SMAs) have been widely supported by the people of Tonga as a successful approach to the comanagement of their fisheries and marine resources. However, due to the dominant focus on expansion of the program over recent years, challenges remain for theeffective and consistent monitoring and evaluation needed to understand program impacts. This review compiles all known ecological, fisheries, and socio-economic monitoring and evaluation reports related to Tonga’s Special Management Areas from 2010 onwards.

In many countries, community-based conservation plays an important role in protecting natural ecosystems and preserving biodiversity. However, community-based conservation groups face a variety of challenges including recruiting and retaining volunteers, maintaining relationships with stakeholders and monitoring progress towards achieving conservation objectives. In order to address these challenges, it is important to understand the barriers to volunteering, and ways to assess and improve effectiveness. Methods.

The Indo-Pacific eel, Anguilla marmorata Quoy & Gaimard, has the widest geographic distribution of anguillid eels. At least four populations (North Pacific, Micronesia, Indian Ocean and South Pacific) of this species were estimated to exist by previous morphological and molecular genetic studies. Recent mitochondrial control region haplotype analysis of A. marmorata eels from the eastern Caroline Islands and Guam grouped them in two separated lineages with eels from the South Pacific and western Indian Ocean.

Aware of the critical need to halt, prevent and reverse ecosystem degradation, and to effectively restore degraded terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems across the globe, through Resolution 73/284, the United Nations General Assembly declared 2021–2030 as the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (hereafter the “UN Decade”).

The United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021–2030 (hereafter “UN Decade”) aims to prevent, halt and reverse ecosystem degradation and recover biodiversity, and ecosystem integrity; enhance human health and well-being, including sustainable delivery of ecosystem goods and services; and mitigate climate change. To create a shared vision of ecosystem restoration, UN Decade partners, through a consultative process, launched ten principles1 (Figure 1) for achieving the highest level of recovery possible through restoration projects.

Pacific Island communities are heavily dependent on fisheries for subsistence and livelihoods. Yet, despite their importance, coastal fisheries are poorly managed and commercial pressures increasingly threaten them. Groupers (Epinephelidae) are exceptionally vulnerable to overexploitation due to aspects of their biology while their economic value makes them a prime target for commerce. Fiji has a significant grouper fishery and is a useful case study to assess a data-poor, economically valuable sector to evaluate management measures, options, and needs.

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted in 2022, provides a framework for the effective implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) through four goals and 23 targets. Target 3 (known as the ‘30x30 target’) calls on Parties to conserve at least 30% of terrestrial, inland waters, and coastal and marine areas by 2030. These guidelines are designed to promote good practices relating to identifying, reporting, monitoring and strengthening OECMs.

In partnership with Bloomberg Ocean Initiative, SkyTruth is developing an entry point for 30x30 stakeholders. The tools below enable you to track the world’s progress toward 30x30, draw new protected areas, and find additional tools and organizations fighting for the protection of marine and terrestrial ecosystems.

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