![]() "By assessing landings and conducting on-board observations, we discovered that manta ray distribution in Peru coincides with four important fishery areas, leading to more incidental bycatch," explains Planeta Océano founder Kerstin Forsberg. Manta Trust and their colleagues are working to better understand the movements of these giants – many of which are pregant females – so they can help (quite literally) steer fisherman in the right direction. "It is most destructive when the species in question is highly vulnerable due to either low reproductive rates (few offspring, slow maturity), low survival rates from capture, or both." "Bycatch is the collateral damage of fishing," he adds. ![]() To make matters worse, mantas only birth one pup per litter, and it takes a female 8 to 10 years to mature. "If this was indeed an incidental capture, then this case truly underscores the brutal realities of the negative impacts of bycatch," says shark biologist Dr Austin Gallagher, whose work explores the vulnerability of elasmobranchs (sharks, skates and rays) to fisheries. "This is particularly worrying, because our collaborative research project with Planeta Océano and WildAid indicates that these waters house one of the world's largest populations of oceanic manta ra ys." It's a harrowing sight, but there is an important lesson here: bycatch is a big problem – and a tricky one. "Oceanic manta rays are increasingly threatened in Peru," explains Manta Trust. Ohhhhhh NO! And from the distended cloaca, I would like to know if she was pregnant/aborted pups. Se violenta y no se protege: Manta raya gigante fue capturada en Tumbes #Perú /A7TptvrhZU Sadly I can verify that this is a real photo of a giant manta killed by fishermen in northern Peru a few days ago. Despite rumour that the ray measured 11 metres (36ft) across, it's more likely that it was 5 to 7 metres (the largest documented was about 7m). The manta ( Manta birostris), which tipped the scales at an astounding 1,000 kilos (2,200 lbs), was accidentally caught by fishermen off the coast of Caleta la Cruz. But we're sad to report that scientists at Manta Trust and the Marine Megafauna Foundati on have confirmed the images are real. When photos of this giant oceanic manta ray surfaced last week, there was some initial speculation that they might be fake. UPDATE (11:45 PST): The manta was not pregnant at the time of capture, no foetus was found during the necropsy.
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