It's hard out there for a shark. A critical barometer to the health of ocean ecosystems, shark and ray populations have faced significant global declines from overfishing, habitat loss, and environment degradation. Add to the mix a slow reproductive cycle and the broader logistical challenges of trying to monitor animals with ranges that can exceed 10,000 nautical miles, and the task of protecting sharks becomes even more daunting. Researchers from Virginia Tech's College of Natural Resources and Environment are part of a group of scientists that used temporal and spatial comparisons to reveal that extinction risks can be significantly reduced by having effective fisheries management and policies in place to ensure the survival of these vulnerable species. The results were recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.