Cownose Rays Exonerated
A Fish Article from All-Creatures.org

FROM

FishFeel.org
March 2016

The workshop report and a new scientific paper explain that oysters are, in fact, not a significant part of the rays’ diet. They also warn that, because cownose rays take years to reach maturity and females only have a single pup each year, their population is very vulnerable to predation.

Cownose rays have long been scapegoated for decreases in oyster populations that are actually due to overcollection for human consumption, pollution, and disease. These gentle, graceful animals are the victims of vicious and ecologically reckless killing contests [See Savage Ray-Killing Contests].

cownose ray killing contest

Gliding along the water’s surface the rays, many of whom are pregnant, are easy targets for bowfishers who ride right up on them, shoot them with arrows, impale them, mercilessly beat them, and pile them up to suffocate. Afterwards their bodies are dumped back into the water.

The media attention and public outcry generated by the investigation we jointly conducted with SHARK of these massacres prompted the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s Chesapeake Bay office to organize a scientific workshop about the rays.

The workshop report and a new scientific paper explain that oysters are, in fact, not a significant part of the rays’ diet. They also warn that, because cownose rays take years to reach maturity and females only have a single pup each year, their population is very vulnerable to predation.

Please sign and share the petition demanding an end to the savagery against these gentle, Bay natives. A second petition has recently been initiated.

Let’s keep the pressure on! 


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