Decreasing fish stocks and advances in technology have increased the exploitation of resources further into the pelagic realm and towards deeper ecosystems, resulting in an overlap with the habitat of many elasmobranch species (shark, rays and skates). As a result, an alarming number of elasmobranchs are at increasing risk of overfishing, whilst declines in shark and ray landings are becoming common. However, species-specific data on shark and ray landings are often limited in remote areas. In Indonesia, sharks and rays are heavily caught in target and bycatch fisheries. The management of elasmobranch fisheries has become an urgent endeavor worldwide given that elasmobranch stocks are rapidly declining, and the potential cascading effects for fishing communities and the entire ecosystem.
Of particular interest to our project are mobulid rays (mantas and devil rays). They are caught in targeted and bycatch fisheries across Indonesia, mainly for the export of their gill plates as a product in the ‘traditional’ Chinese Medicine and dried seafood markets. The exportation of mobulid parts (primarily gills) from Indonesia and other countries poses threats for population sustainability. Mobulid gills originating from Indonesia represents an important proportion of the trade in the Chinese market.
Monitoring landings, providing recommendations and training to governmental institutions is crucial to making informed management decisions. Finding alternatives to reduce catches whilst gaining insight into the socio-economy of the fishery is also necessary. The Mobula Project Indonesia works with Indonesian students and graduates, local fishing communities, and local scientists to primarily study devil rays at key aggregation and landing sites in Indonesia. Through fishing market surveys and interviews, the project aims to provide urgently needed information on devil ray fisheries in Indonesia. We strive to support conservation at a national level, by providing biological and ecological information, whilst raising stakeholder awareness and exploring solutions to reduce devil ray fisheries.