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Manta rays designated vulnerable species
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), has added giant and reef manta rays to its Red List of Threatened Species.
Credit: Kurt Amsler
Swimming, diving and filming with manta rays are major eco-tourism activities generating $100 million annually worldwide.
IUCN Shark Specialist Group | Another leap towards the Barometer of Life | 11-20-2011
IUCN's Shark Specialist Group (SSG), a worldwide network of scientists based at SFU and co-chaired by SFU biologist Nick Dulvy, has declared manta rays Vulnerable with an elevated risk of extinction due to intense fishing and a growing scarcity of food.
“
Increasing demand for these fishes’ filter-feeding system for traditional Chinese medicinal purposes, especially in Hong Kong, is rapidly driving down their population everywhere
”—Lucy Harrison, SSG program officer and biologist
The IUCN Shark Specialist Group has recently completed the Red List assessment of all 1,044 chondrichthyan (cartilaginous fishes - Ed.) species.
Manta ray populations have declined by as much as 80 per cent in several regions over the last 75 years and by more than 30 per cent worldwide.
Two species
Comparisons of field observations recently revealed that there are actually two species of ‘manta’: the Reef Manta Ray (Manta alfredi) and the Giant Manta Ray (Manta birostris), both of which are now classified as Vulnerable.
The Giant Manta Ray is the largest living ray, which can grow to more than seven meters across. Manta Ray products have a high value in international trade markets and targeted fisheries hunt them for their valuable gill rakers used in traditional Chinese medicine.
Monitoring and regulation of the exploitation and trade of both manta ray species is urgently needed, as well as protection of key habitats.
Primary source â–º Another leap towards the Barometer of Life
Further reading â–º IUCN Red List web site
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