San José, Costa Rica (February 15, 2016) – A group of experts from international conservation organizations is announcing a new strategy for combating the decline of sharks and closely related rays, while warning that the rays are even more threatened and less protected than the higher profile sharks.

Brooklyn, N.Y. – Jan. 13, 2016 – WCS’s (Wildlife Conservation Society) New York Aquarium released today a photographic look back on Ocean Wonders: Sharks! construction in 2015.  Ocean Wonders: Sharks! will be a 57,000-square-foot building featuring sharks, rays, sea turtles, and thousands of schooling fish. It will hold more than 500,000 gallons of water in fully immersive and interactive exhibits, forging connections between people and wildlife while highlighting the need for conservation of delicate marine ecosystems.

The Government of Madagascar has created the country’s first marine sanctuary for sharks as part of a new law to safeguard the country’s marine resources and the communities that rely on them.

Twenty-one species listed under Convention on Migratory Species Quito, Ecuador. November 9, 2014. Conservationists are rejoicing at the listing of 21 species of sharks and rays under the Appendices of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), made official today in the final plenary session of the Conference of Parties (CoP). With these listings, member countries agreed to grant strict protection to the reef manta, the nine devil rays, and the five sawfishes, and committed to work internation...

“Swatch of No Ground Marine Protected Area” is Bangladesh’s first MPA New marine protected area announced as run-up to World Parks Congress in Sydney, Australia (Nov. 12-19) New York (November 3, 2014)—The Government of Bangladesh has created the country’s first marine protected area that will now safeguard whales, dolphins, sea turtles, sharks, and other oceanic species, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society. The creation of the “Swatch of No Ground Marine Protected Area” occu...

Caleb McClennen, executive director for the Wildlife Conservation Society's Global Marine Program, explains the most important take away from Discovery Channel's Shark Week: sharks are an extraordinarily threatened species.

During "Shark Week" this year, says WCS Executive Vice President of Pubic Affairs John Calvelli, consider the serious threats to sharks and the vital New York seascape they rely on.

As overfishing pushes more and more shark and ray species to the brink, WCS is increasing its commitment to the conservation of these fish and their relatives over the next 10 years.

Bronx, New York (January 22, 2014) -- The following statement was issued today by Dr. Cristián Samper, President and CEO of the Wildlife Conservation Society: "The Wildlife Conservation Society expresses its alarm at the new findings released yesterday by IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, indicating the heightened threatened status of the world’s sharks, rays, skates and chimeras, the cartilaginous fishes.“A global analysis of the conservation status of the 1,041 specie...

The groundbreaking of the facility is part of the effort to transform WCS's New York Aquarium and continue the rebirth of Coney Island.