![]() You can also put pressure on fisheries industry to reduce by-catch, ghost gear, targeted fishing of mantas. Since many rays get caught as by-catch in high seas fisheries, you can help by reducing the amount of seafood you eat and/or choosing sustainably sourced seafood. This disrupts the life-cycle of plankton, which is the manta’s major source of food.ĬITES Listing: Both manta ray species are included in Appendix II, meaning that their trade is strictly controlled and requires permits to prevent overexploitation.Īvoid buying traditional Asian medicines and western herbal remedies as these often contain manta ray gills, shark fin and other endangered animals like the pangolin. Microplastics are ingested by sea animals and subsequently block digestive tracts, diminish the urge to eat, release toxins, and alter feeding behavior, all of which reduce growth and reproductive output.Ĭlimate change leads to increases in the sea temperature and ocean acidification. Pieces of plastic <5mm, called microplastics, pose another serious threat. Large plastic products clog up the manta’s stomach, making it impossible for the animal to digest nutritious food and the animals die. Manta rays reproduce slowly and live long, which makes them highly vulnerable to overexploitation.Īs for most marine life, plastic pollution poses another major threat to manta rays. The giant manta ray has become highly valued in international markets for its gill rakers, sponge-like tissue between their gills, which are used in Chinese medicines. ![]() ![]() Manta rays are already threatened by targeted fishing, incidental capture as by-catch and entanglement in marine debris, plastic pollution and habitat degradation. Reef manta rays dive between the surface ocean and the deep sea, creating a valuable ecological connection between the two. They control plankton abundance and diversity and regulate nutrient cycling. Unlike its closest living relative, the shark, manta rays do not actually have teeth and instead sieve plankton out of the water using rows of tiny plates in their mouths, which they funnel in their mouths as they swim. There are two species of manta ray: the reef manta ray, which is found in the coastal waters of the tropics and sub-tropics, and the largest ray in the world, the giant oceanic manta ray, which migrates in the world’s open waters.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |