Editor’s Note

Welcome to the latest edition of Current Conservation.

In the featured story of this issue, Trisha Gupta offers a glimpse into the enigmatic lives of rhino rays strange-looking ancient relatives of sharks—and the researchers studying these endangered cartilaginous fish. Nupur Kale and Andrea Phillott expound the importance of evidence-based practices in sea turtle conservation with a focus on hatcheries. Abel Job Abraham and Diya Deepak introduce us to Kalumangothi, a fisherman from the Lakshadweep archipelago whose knowledge and wisdom extend beyond individual species to the ocean as a whole.

Women, while being disproportionately impacted by environmental degradation and climate change, are underrepresented in conservation efforts. Wanjiku Kinuthia spotlights a few trailblazing women who are leading the way in East Africa’s marine space, and Gathoni Mwai showcases how an eco-credit scheme is improving the lives of countless women in coastal Kenya—where the poverty rate is many times the national average—while also incentivising conservation.

This year has seen the tragic passing of two cherished colleagues and friends: Anne Heloise Theo and Satish Bhaskar. Both left their mark on marine biology and conservation, Anne with her groundbreaking research on mixed species groups of reef fish and Satish with his extensive work on sea turtles across India as well as West Papua, Indonesia. We dedicate this marine-themed issue to them.