Cowtail stingray threats
Cowtail Rays are regularly captured in trawl, gillnet and longline fisheries across the range of this species. In places, fishing pressure is intense and increasing. For example, in the Indian state of Gujarat, the number of trawlers increased from ~6,600 in 2004 to over 11,500 trawlers in 2010 (Zynudheen et al. 2004, CMFRI 2010). Similarly, gillnet fishing (including net length) is increasing in India (Bineesh K.K., unpub. data). Indian west coast annual landings of Cowtail Rays have fluctuated between ~14 and 40 tonnes in recent years (Bineesh K.K. pers. comm. 06/02/2017). In Pakistan waters, about 2,000 trawlers operate in shelf waters, targeting shrimp in shallow waters and fish in deeper shelf waters (M. Khan pers. comm. 06/02/2017). In Iran, there is increasing fishing effort with the number of fishermen going from 70,729 in 1993 to 109,601 in 2002 (Valinassab et al. 2006). In the Saudi Red Sea, the number of traditional vessels operating increased from about 3,100 to 10,000 between 1988 and 2006 (Bruckner et al. 2011).
Cowtail Rays are generally discarded in the Red Sea and the Gulf (due to undesirable meat), in contrast to the normal retention in India. Fishers will often remove the tail before release. Rays without tails seem to survive as these have been recorded on BRUVs in the region (J. Spaet unpub. data). Survivorship from released line catches would be higher than trawl where the species may suffer mortality even if released.
Marine habitats in the Gulf are experiencing high levels of disturbance and quickly deteriorating due to major impacts from development activities (including dredging and reclamation), desalination plants, industrial activities, habitat destruction through the removal of shallow productive areas and major shipping lanes (Sheppard et al. 2010) which is likely to impact this species.
