Marine biologists in India have used genetic tools and talked to fishermen in order to figure out how ray species are faring.
India has been one of the world’s top shark/ray harvesting countries for several decades, but now reported harvests and fin exports have been steadily declining and over half of rays in the northern Indian Ocean are considered threatened with extinction.
Alissa Barnes, a shark and fisheries biologist explains that despite this importance, there is a “stark gap” in the basic scientific knowledge of rays.
“After a year or two of working on sharks, I realized that within the field a lot of importance was given to the larger charismatic species and even lesser importance to their cousins: the rays,” she says, adding that she would go on to construct a project to study rays and with that basic data, lay the foundation for targeted conservation actions and improve how fisheries are run.
“The biggest challenge was for fishers to trust me and to remind myself daily of the position I occupied as a researcher in the system,” she says, “This was (and still is) particularly challenging as policies of protection were put in place in the past that severely affected fisher livelihoods.”
The study, which began during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, documented the drivers involved in ray fisheries through landing site and interview surveys along three major coastal fishing states in India: Gujarat, Maharashtra and Orissa.
“The biggest opportunity for me was to bring everything related to rays on the map and raise more awareness about this group,” she says, adding that the aim was to bridge information gaps and create a comprehensive species list.
“Today, if we know 10% about sharks, we know even lesser about rays, their behaviors & ecologies, their cultural significance and more,” she says.
Passion For ‘Magnificent Fish’
Barnes grew up in the Indian coastal city of Mumbai and says her journey to marine biology wasn’t “very glamorous or straightforward”.
“I think all those visits to the beach as a kid and then as a masters student (to volunteer for projects and explore intertidal systems) subconsciously had an effect on me,” she says, adding that she started out volunteering for projects on land, before transitionin got marine projects.
“I always say, my love story with sharks began like an arranged marriage – we met through my mentor and I was told it would be a good match,” Barnes says, “It’s been over eight years, and even though working on shark fisheries has meant engaging more with fishing communities than with sharks (dead or alive), I still find myself mind blown every time I come across new information about these magnificent fish!”
Barnes is now working at the Wildlife Conservation Society and explains that scientists from the Global South, bring unique, diverse thoughts and solutions to global challenges.
“I also think that there isn’t a one size fits all solution: I believe while investigating solutions, sometimes the smallest stakeholder groups can spark big changes,” ” she says, “It is important to take a step back, assess and analyse the problem statement and the risks at hand, consider the nuances and formulate solutions that are specific to a region.”
New Lab in Sri Lanka
Meanwhile, elsewhere in South Asia, Lankika Anjani, a researcher at the Blue Resources Trust in Sri Lanka, explains that Sri Lanka’s first shark and ray conservation genetics laboratory is focused on helping conserve shark, ray, and chimeras species using conservation genetics, a field dedicated to using genetic information to help conserve species.
Sri Lanka’s sovereign waters in the India Ocean cover an area about the size of France (510,000 square kilometers or about 200,00 square miles) and within this vast area are over 50 shark species, of which around a dozen species are of commercial significance.
“As a first project there, I am working on the build-up of a genetic workflow for the identification of shark and ray species using next-generation sequencing,” Lankika says, “The second stage of the project would be to identify products in trade and export from Sri Lanka that cannot otherwise be visually identified (meat, oil etc.).”
Over 65% of shark and ray species in Sri Lanka are threatened with extinction on the IUCN Red List and 12% of the species are either Data Deficient or not assessed by the Red List, which is particularly pertinent on Shark Awareness Day, celebrated on July 14.
Lankika says one of the main aims of the lab is to look at the extent of mislabeling of products, for example, dried shark or ray meat being sold as generic dried fish.
