eShark has gathered millions of observations from scuba divers and other ocean explorers to describe shark populations to help get the conservation they need. Now, eShark is powered by the eOceans mobile app (iOS and Android) with real-time, expert-developed analytics — so that anyone exploring the ocean today can help and learn how their sharks are doing today.
All ocean explorers are invited to join eShark, using the eOceans platform, to track sharks and their threats around the world, to inform science and policy. Photo: eOceans 2023
Divers have helped saved a lot of sharks
In the twelve years since eShark began, thousands of divers, snorkelers, and other ocean explorers have participated in many eShark projects. These include the Great Fiji Shark Count, eShark Thailand in partnership with Shark Guardian, eManta, Shark Sanctuary Evaluation, and other consequential citizen science projects.
By gathering millions of observations — of sharks, rays, turtles, whales, garbage, and more — hotspots of shark diversity and abundance have been described. For the first time, we’ve been able to show how shark populations change by location, season, and year. We’ve also described threats and evaluated the success of different conservation strategies. These findings have informed many policies like Shark Sanctuaries, Marine Protected Areas, international trade (i.e., CITES) and more.
This would not have been possible without ocean explorers, particularly scuba divers, who reported what they saw. This work has guided science-based decisions that have saved a lot of sharks.
eShark has gathered millions of ocean observations from scuba divers and other explorers to address many science questions and to inform policies that protect sharks. Photo: eOceans 2023
Saving manta rays – an example
People love Manta Rays, a relative of sharks. Tourists spend millions every year to fly around the world just to see them in a few locations. So, alarms rang across the tourism industry and conservation world when they started to disappear from some of the top dive destinations.
Manta rays are sought by poachers for their fins and gill rakers.
We created a spinoff of eShark, eManta, to gather scuba divers’ observations of manta rays – where they see them in the wild, where they see them being fished, and where they are sold in the markets. This study gathered over 600,000 dive observations from 90 regions of the world.
Combined across all observations, we revealed that although only two countries reported catching manta rays, that they were being caught and sold in markets around the world. This was particularly problematic in areas adjacent to popular dive and ecotourism areas, where manta rays provide important socioeconomic value through tourism. The results also suggested that they were being poached from sites where they had local or national protection.
This discrepancy demonstrated that illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing combined with international trade was threatening manta rays with extinction. Therefore, they were listed by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which controls international trade so that permits are required to sell manta rays and their parts internationally (these regulations have been strengthened further in 2021).
This was only possible with the participation of scuba divers around the world who cared enough to pay attention and to take a few minutes to log their observations for science.
Tourists fly around the world to spend time with manta rays – a relative to sharks. Divers observations helped manta rays get on the endangered species list. Photo: Jeff Hester / Ocean Image Bank
Tracking sharks for conservation in Thailand, Fiji
Across Thailand and Fiji, two popular dive destinations for sharks, the dive tourism operators and guides were concerned for their sharks. They noticed that many species were declining across many sites, often to the point of absence. They wanted the science that could help them advocate for increased protection of sharks (and their livelihoods), but didn’t have the data to support policy change.
Together, we set up community dive logbooks for all divers to log their dives with their observations of sharks, as well as rays, seahorses, turtles, garbage, and so on.
Dive guides and their guests logged their dives – over 200,000 sharks on 45,000 dives from over 700 sites.
These data provided the first nation-wide descriptions of sharks in both countries.
For the first time ever, using divers’ observations, we were able to describe hotspots of sharks, including sites and seasons with high shark abundance and diversity. Importantly, where there was overlap in a few sites, our results looked just like those from other studies that used scientific observers only.
These studies initiated new shark research, conservation, policy, and other relevant conversations to protect sharks and the future of diving.
Divers recording all their observations from dives around the world can help tell the story of the ocean. Photo: Jett Britnell / Ocean Image Bank
Extending to the blue economy — protecting nature and people
eShark, and citizen science projects like it that collect zero data — where sharks are not seen — also provide insights on key areas for harnessing and protecting the Blue Economy.
When ocean explorers log their activities — where they spend their time doing different activities — trends in this alone, even without the observations, can help communities get a sense of the most important areas for people. This is the Ocean Economy. When those are combined with observations of animals, such as sharks and other biodiversity metrics, they can help prioritize the areas that are good for both humans and nature, which are fundamental to a successful Blue Economy.
Sites that are good for humans and animals could be prioritized for protection.
Governments that are undergoing marine spatial planning exercises and genuinely aim to support a Blue Economy, for example, would prioritize these areas
Too slow to track sharks
Despite great success over the last decade, every eShark project was done manually.
Divers recorded their dives and observations on paper. In Fiji, they had community dive log books contained in binders in the dive shops. In Thailand, dive guides handed out paper log sheets for their dive guides and guests to fill out at the end of a dive. We also tried online surveys. Then, the data were manually entered, and then cleaned and analyzed by scientists using different statistical tools. Finally, we all co-interpreted the results and wrote them up for publication, in peer-reviewed journals.
Publications followed years behind the last data point. Too slow for highly mobile, targeted, declining shark populations.
Additionally, there are ethics requirements that dictate how we can use, or re-use these types of data – we cannot give the data to others or make it open access for others to use.
Instead, to repeat the study, all the data would need to be gathered again.
Ethical uses of data are for good reason, but it slows discoveries and wastes participants time.
Technology to save sharks
eOceans is a purpose-built mobile app and analytics platform that was designed and developed by eShark scientists using the two decades of research and expertise from eShark, eManta, field work, and using large ocean citizen science data.
When divers log observations, eOceans stitches all observations together to tell the picture of sharks in the ocean. Photo: eOceans 2023
Instead of just building a mobile app for eShark, with just sharks, eOceans was designed for all species — to make science more inclusive, accurate, and fast while reaching all parts of our world’s ocean.
The eOceans mobile app enables all ocean explorers (e.g., scuba divers) to log and track their activities (e.g., dives) and observations and to share them with one or thousands of other projects.
To be valuable for science, the policies used by eOceans are aligned with the requirements of research ethics boards at universities and journals.
To accomplish this, data contributors (e.g., divers) own their data and are in control of who they share their data with. When someone is invited to join a project and contributes their observations to that project, then they can help interpret the results by using the community channel. Because the data are analyzed in real-time and are accessible to all contributors, they are also enabled to facilitate knowledge distribution and are empowered to be an integral part of the action dialogue.
With eOceans, people can record observations of animals, human activities, and pollution. For animals, their abundance, health status (e.g., size, injuries, diseases) and behaviours (e.g., mating, breaching) can also be added. This way the presence/absence, abundance, and health of animals can be tracked, not just their presence – health of the species and their threats and ability to thrive.
Some have likened eOceans to Strava for athletes, where ocean explorers track their activities, which represents survey effort. Their dashboard shows their impact by tracking their effort (distance, time) and observations.
Others have likened eOceans to Waze for drivers, where ocean explorers log what they see to help others better understand what’s happening in the ocean.
Goal: 1 billion observations per day to help sharks
At eShark, our vision is to protect and restore sharks to their former abundance and value in the ocean and our mission is to unite all ocean explorers to track shark populations & understand their needs.
To accomplish this, our goal is to gather 1 billion observations per day of sharks, including zeros and their threats — enabling us to track sharks, their threats, and society’s relationship with sharks around the world.
Together, we’ll monitor sharks and their threats while assessing the performance of different shark conservation strategies, such as Shark Sanctuaries, Marine Protected Areas, quotas, CITES listing, and more.
Powered by eOceans, our global eShark team will have science-based results that can help individuals and decision makers to protect sharks and restore their value.
Be a Shark Hero: Join eShark!
If you dive, surf, snorkel, sail, fish, or explore the ocean for any activity that has the chance of seeing a shark you can help sharks.