Dear Reader,

Happy Valentine’s Day! Did you know that the reef-dwelling skimwings in Avatar: The Way of Water were partly inspired by mobulid rays?

With fins resembling wings, they seamlessly glide through the water. When they open their rectangular-shaped mouths, their gill rakers can look intimidating. Yet their prehistoric, gigantic exterior contrasts with their nature and their nickname — modern monsters. mobulid rays, which include manta rays, are harmless marine fish that are, in fact, friendly towards humans.

Exactly a year ago, I was working on a pitch about the illegal trade of ray species along the Indian coast. It was one of the stories that didn’t see the light of day. So, when I recently read a Mongabay article, highlighting a study showing that the meat of manta rays (along with sharks and rays) is found in fish landing centres and restaurant menus, I decided to revisit the subject.

Here are some grim facts: despite legal protections on par with whale sharks, the manta ray trade is rampant in India because of its commercial value. Unlike whale sharks, dried and fresh manta ray meat is a delicacy consumed widely in India, Indonesia, and the Philippines. “Only fins of whale sharks had an international market, and their meat is not consumed in India due to its strong and pungent taste,” said Sajan John, Co-Principal Investigator, Marine Projects at the Wildlife Trust of India.

Over the last two decades, a major international market has emerged for manta rays. Similar to the shark fin trade, mobulid gill plates have become the primary commodity. In Southeast Asian countries, these gill plates are used in traditional Chinese medicine, often made into a soup called Pengui Sai, and they are also marketed to enhance sexual desire.

“Not even the frontline forest officials are aware that manta rays are legally protected in India. It’s such a niche subject,” John says.

In the Maldives, all mobulid rays are fully protected, and targeted fishing is banned. These gentle giants attract snorkelers and scuba divers from around the world, giving a big boost to tourism.

In Indonesia, the government declared all manta rays nationally protected and created one of the world’s largest manta sanctuaries. Conservation organisations emphasize that a live manta ray contributes far more value than a dead one.

But in offshore Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, near where I live, where tourism is not dependent on such underwater adventures, fishers catch and land these majestic animals. It is a graveyard for mobulid rays.

It makes me wonder that it’s not the law or ecological importance that can save wildlife, but the value we humans place on them. However, the success of whale shark conservation in India is hopeful. Through mass-scale sensitization, government bodies and conservation organisations educated the fishing community about its protected status. It has been so impactful that many whale sharks caught in ghost nets have been saved.

Perhaps we can learn to love manta rays — in a different way.

“By educating the stakeholders about the ecological value of mobuild rays and also sensitising the enforcement agencies on identifying the dried gill rakers of mobulids, the illegal trade can be curbed,” John concludes.

Warmly,
Laasya Shekhar
Managing Editor

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• MORROW COUNTY, Ohio — Are faked public comments about to tank an Ohio solar farm? (Kathiann M. Kowalski, Canary Media)

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• Rodrigo Pérez Ortega, On the Rewards of Reporting Between Two Worlds (Laura Martin Agudelo, Knight Science Journalism Program at MIT)

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