Cronin publishes fisher-designed solution to manta and devil ray bycatch

Manta and devil rays are among the ocean’s most threatened species — and bycatch in tropical tuna purse seine fisheries is an important source of mortality. Melissa Cronin recently published results from a study working directly with tuna purse seine captains and crew to deploy and test an innovative new solution to the bycatch problem, a mobulid sorting grid. The grid is a simple, fisher-designed tool to rapidly and safely release these massive rays.

Key findings include: 

• Mobulids released with the sorting grid were significantly larger than those released by other methods.
• Even for the biggest individuals, average handling time was just ~3 minutes -- within a critical time window.
• This means faster releases, less stress, and higher chances of survival.

“Broad adoption of this tool could be a win for manta and devil ray conservation worldwide — and help set a new standard for responsible bycatch practices in tuna fisheries,” Melissa shared. 

The open access paper is available here in the journal Conservation Biology.