Zanzibar announces major Shark and Ray protection programme

Zanzibar has announced sweeping new national protection programmes for sharks and rays at a side event held during the Our Ocean Conference in Mombasa, Kenya, on 17 June.

The announcement was made at a reception hosted by the Shark Conservation Fund, in partnership with the governments of Kenya, Tanzania, and Madagascar, and supported by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). 

Zanzibar will protect 34 species in its coastal waters, among them hammerhead sharks, thresher sharks, and the endemic Zanzibar guitarfish - shown left. (c) Andy Murch.

The protections mark the latest milestone in a decade of shark and ray conservation progress across East Africa and build on significant international momentum.

At CITES CoP20 in November 2025, countries adopted every shark and ray proposal on the table, listing more than 70 species and bringing 96% of the global shark fin trade under international regulation for the first time - with 180 species now listed under CITES in total. More than 37% of shark and ray species are currently threatened with extinction, driven largely by overfishing and historically unregulated trade.

For the tourism industry, healthy shark and ray populations remain a key draw for marine and dive tourism across the East African coastline, making their long-term conservation of direct relevance to the sector.