Effective management of shark, and their relatives, starts with an understanding of their population status, which will ultimately instruct their future conservation. Unfortunately, many shark species are at significant risk of unrecoverable decline, with some species having declined to near extinction in recent years. We believe that Citizen Science could hold the key to improving our understanding and management of shark populations, whilst also advancing community education.

Through the Shark Base project, we aimed to build a global network of Citizen Shark Scientists collecting vital information about the abundance and distribution of shark species worldwide. Using the data gathered by SharkBase, we were able to map the distribution and abundance of many shark species globally, and we were also able to use this information to infer patterns of marine ecosystem health. However, none of this would have been possible without the support of the hundreds of Citizen Scientists whom contributed data to this important project. Listed below are some of the top Shark Base contributors.