Photograph: Manta Ray of Hope
Beautiful and threathened
Manta rays are without a shadow of a doubt among the most awe-inspiring creatures that still inhabit the oceans of Planet Earth. No wonder the animals are so popular with divers and snorkelers. So popular that a single animal can ‘earn’ more than US$ 1 million over its lifetime for local eco-tourism, according to a new report issued by the Manta Ray of Hope Project. The gracious fish are in serious trouble though and may face the dire prospect of extinction if nothing is undertaken to put more forceful protection measures into place. The report mentioned above provides shocking evidence that the graceful and gentle giants are rapidly disappearing due to extreme fishing pressure that is largely unknown by the general public or conservationists.
Report
The Manta Ray of Hope Project, a joint effort of two conservation organizations, Shark Savers and WildAid, released a comprehensive report documenting worldwide manta and mobula declines due to the trade in their gills. The report, entitled Manta Ray of Hope: The Global Threat to Manta and Mobula Rays provides the most far-reaching research ever conducted into both the intensive overfishing of mantas and mobulas as well as the trade in their gill rakers that are driving mantas and mobulas to the point of population collapse. The destruction of ray populations is the result of demand for their gill rakers, with an estimated market value of $11 million annually. That is a fraction of the value of manta and mobula ray tourism, which is estimated to fetch over $100 million per year on a global scale. Shawn Heinrichs, Manta Ray of Hope team leader, explains: “While the gills are valuable for this trade, it is also robbing local economies and the environment of one of the most charismatic creatures in the ocean that could draw millions of dollars each year for those communities.” Lead investigator Paul Hilton added, “We first came across manta and mobula ray gills in Asian markets several years ago and followed the trail to the dried seafood markets of Southern China. It’s sad to see these animals gradually follow the same path to extinction as many sharks.”
Reproductive biology
Manta and mobula ray populations are severely impacted by any kind of targeted fishing because the animals have extremely limited reproductive biology. Manta and mobula rays can take ten or more years to reach sexual maturity and typically produce only one pup every two to three years. In comparison, even the equally spectacular great white shark, which is listed under CITES Appendix II and widely considered to be one of the world’s most vulnerable species, may produce as many pups in one litter as a manta ray does over its entire lifetime. As a result, every area with active fisheries directed against manta and mobula rays reports devastating and rapid declines in populations of these rays. In certain regions, such as the Sea of Cortez, the oceanic manta ray (Manta birostris, the biggest ray found in the modern oceans) has largely disappeared. The aggressive trade in gill rakers continues in several of the key range states for mobulids with the largest landings documented in Sri Lanka, India, and Indonesia. “If action is not taken quickly, manta and mobula rays will likely face regional extinctions because of unregulated fisheries”, said Michael Skoletsky, Executive Director of Shark Savers. “Anyone who has gone diving with mantas knows them to be intelligent, graceful, and engaging animals. It would be a tragedy to lose them.” Executive Director of WildAid, Peter Knights, adds that “Mantas can generate tens of millions of dollars of long term sustainable tourism revenue for less wealthy nations, or for a few million we can let them go extinct for an obscure and dubious folk cure. The economics and the moral imperative are clear: we need an immediate moratorium on gill raker trade and measures which guarantee the complete protection of some populations.”
False claims
The gills of manta and mobula rays are dried and boiled for preparation as a health tonic that is purported to treat a wide range of ailments. Yet the report’s researchers did not find the gill raker remedy listed anywhere in the official Traditional Chinese Medicine manual. However, that has not prevented its use as a pseudo-medicinal tonic, driven by direct marketing to consumers by importers in Guangzhou, China, the primary destination for this trade.
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