The most alarming threat manta rays face is targeted fishing. Since the 1980s, the removal of their gill arches has intensified to supply the Asian market, where their meat is sold due to supposed anti-inflammatory and detoxifying properties. According to the oceanographer, Brazil is among the illegal suppliers of this structure.
Another problem is bycatch, when non-target species are captured. “Coastal development, pollution by chemical/organic products, marine debris, plastic and microplastic, entanglement, vessel strikes, and the impact of climate change on marine and coastal ecosystems represent other imminent threats to mobulas,” adds Nayara.
The increase in catches, combined with the biological characteristics of mobulas, such as low reproductive rate and slow growth, has resulted in a significant decline in species populations, especially in recent decades. All are currently listed in categories of endangered species, according to the Red List of Threatened Species of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
The article An integrative taxonomy investigation unravels a cryptic species of Mobula Rafinesque, 1810 (Mobulidae, Myliobatiformes), from the Atlantic Ocean can be accessed at this link.
More information: nayarabucair@usp.br, with Nayara Bucair
*Intern supervised by Luiza Caires
English version: Nexus Traduções
