Protecting the Spinetail Devil Ray

The Spinetail Devil Ray, taken by Julian Renoult 

The Spinetail Devil Ray or Mobula Mobular, is a large ray that resides in tropical and temperate waters. It is an endangered species, but can be found in a wide array of areas in the Oceans across the world. The Spinetail Devil Ray eats tiny marine organisms while swimming, typically things such as plankton, small fish, and crustaceans like other members of the ray family. The Spinetail devil ray is endangered, due to many factors unfortunately. Data from the IUCN Redlist states that their rate of reproduction is very slow compared to many other lifeforms, as they typically have one offspring every 1-3 years, with a 12 month pregnancy phase and have a very low rate of population increase. The average lifespan of a Spinetail Devil ray is around 12 years, with the maximum being 20 years old. The population of the Spinetail Devil Ray is also declining rapidly due to one major environmental issue, bycatch from fisheries. This has resulted in a 50-79% decrease in population over the last 38 years, and this number is declining steadily.

Seaweed Underwater, photo taken by an unknown photographer 

The Spinetail Devil Ray lives in the Ocean biome, specifically in tropical and temperate waters. The Spinetail Devil Ray typically stays in water around 50 meters deep, but has been known to dive to waters over 1,000 meters according to the IUCN Redlist 

An ocean sunset, taken by user Kienvirak

The Ocean covers around 70% of the Earth, but there are many different Oceans with varying temperatures. The Spinetail Devil Ray is found in every ocean except the Arctic Ocean, due to the colder water temperatures there. The Oceans are very wet environments, as they consist pretty much entirely of water. In the Oceans there are

many types of producers such as seaweed, algae, and phytoplankton. Phytoplankton are the most abundant, and they are small microscopic plants floating in the water. Seaweed and algae are also incredibly common and important producers. Some primary consumers of the Ocean are Zooplankton, many kinds of small fish, and crustaceans such as brine shrimp or fairy shrimp, which also serve as food for the Spinetail Devil Ray.

Close up of Phytoplankton, Taken by an unknown photographer

    The most critical threat to the population of the Spinetail Devil Ray is bycatch from fisheries and overfishing in general. Bycatch is basically everything other than the target species that is caught from fishing, for example if someone was fishing for shrimp and they caught a crab, that would be considered bycatch. They are both targeted and caught accidentally through various means. This makes the number of caught Spinetail Devil Rays hard to track exactly, but it is estimated that thousands are caught per year per the IUCN Redlist, which has a major impact on an already dwindling population number. Bycatch is extremely damaging to the environment, as it often involves very long (one mile+)  long nets that drag along the ocean floor capturing anything and everything along the way. Even though they are endangered, they are still sold in some parts of the world such as China, India, and Sri Lanka. There is even a fishery that exists in the Levantinee sea that specifically hunts Spinetail Devil Ray, and has since the 1970’s and was specifically noted by the IUCN Redlist.

The damage from these fishing methods employed by many fisheries should not be understated, as the huge nets capture, kill, and destroy pretty much anything that it comes in contact with. This practice is used all over the world, especially large exporters of fish such as Japan. Overfishing / bycatch is an issue that is continuing to get worse with no signs of slowing down anytime soon which is very scary for the future of lots of ocean life. 

A quick guide to the fishing methods of major fisheries
Photo taken by users Hannah Richie and Max Roser

    While overfishing / bycatch is relatively exclusive to the ocean, it is similar in a way to to deforestation. Deforestation on an extreme scale is just taking every tree from a forest, and leaving the land barren, missing tons of important elements of the ecosystem that the trees provided such as homes for animals and food for others, which can lead to population issues. Overfishing is similar as it is resulting in entire species being wiped out due to home destruction and mass killings. 

Here in Keene, New Hampshire we don’t have a fishery, but that doesn’t mean that someone can’t do their part locally to help against overfishing. Overfishing is a large issue that is deeply rooted in the fishing industry as a whole, which involves a whole lot of products, and companies. My recommendation would be to consume minimal products that come from the fishing industry, and if you do, make sure they are from a company that you can trust and have done research on. I've done some research online and found there are many resources that are dedicated to writing guides to help someone choose the most environmentally sustainable options for their region, which shows what is acceptable to eat in your region, and also what is unacceptable due to harmful farming practices. The best one I found was a helpful collection of guides written by the Monterey Bay Aquarium, called “Seafood Watch”.

Sustainable Seafood by region, Created by the Monterey Bay Aquarium

This site has excellent information for every region in the United States. Resources such as this one are extremely useful for educating yourself and others on the food you consume, and can have a major impact on the environment if adopted by folks locally. I would also recommend buying your sources of protein from a reputable and local source, as you get to give back to the community while also helping yourself at the same time by getting fresher product!