Project involves population in the conservation of rays in SP – 03/02/2023 – Environment

Could Brazil have a tourist spot to dive with rays and help in their conservation?

That’s what ichthyologist Fábio Motta and biologist Luiza Chelotti, from Unifesp’s Marine Ecology and Conservation Laboratory (Federal University of São Paulo) are betting on.

They are part of the project “Viu raia?” on the southern coast of São Paulo, with the aim of raising awareness and encouraging the conservation of marine rays in that region. The initiative has partners from Unesp (São Paulo State University) of São Vicente and Registro and Uerj (State University of Rio de Janeiro).

The project, which began in January, has two main aspects: the first, called citizen science, brings the population together to help in the efforts to preserve the animals. From records made by recreational divers, scientists collect information about which species are most common, at what time of year they occur and how often they are sighted.

“This first part involves not only collecting photographic records, but training the divers, so it’s a citizen science project that helps improve their own ability to identify rays”, explains Motta.

As the photographic records are released by the divers themselves, they help in the monitoring of the rays, also contributing with data on the occurrence of species and seasonality.

“Our idea is also to help with a guide so that the divers themselves can identify the species they see, with some tips and teachings”, explains Chelotti, who is responsible for conducting the interviews with the divers. There are about 70 species that occur along the entire Brazilian coast, of which 36 can be seen on the coast of São Paulo.

The second stage of the project, which is not yet in application, aims at a payment for environmental services (PSA) program for the preservation of fish. For the project under study, recreational divers (and, in the future, other agents, with the government itself) would contribute with a value that would be reverted to artisanal fishermen who capture a stingray and release the animal.

In Brazil, there is a lack of data on species included in the endangered list of rays and sharks, and therefore animals classified as endangered can be captured and sold as “dogfish”. Thus, if fishermen are instructed to release live rays each time they are captured, they would receive a payment per released ray, thus avoiding losses in their economic activity.

“We know that rays are among the most endangered animals in the world, with around 36% of species facing some degree of extinction. And, in Brazil, this rate can reach 30%, although data are scarce”, recalls Motta.

According to the researcher, the viability of the payment plan depends, on the one hand, on whether the divers are willing to contribute and, on the other hand, on whether the fishermen themselves intend to participate in the release.

“It is important for us to use new tools to talk about conservation. Because, nowadays, when talking about preserving species the focus is on biodiversity, but we cannot ignore the social challenges of those people who often need fishing to guarantee their own food security and that of their families”, he emphasizes.

An example of an ongoing payment program for environmental services is the removal of garbage from the sea in areas of environmental preservation by fishermen. Called “Sea without garbage”, the project’s main partners are the Fishing Institute, the Oceanographic Institute of USP, Cetesb (Environmental Company of the State of São Paulo) and the municipal governments of Cananeia, Itanhaém, Ubatuba, Bertioga, Caraguatatuba , Guarujá and São Sebastião. For each garbage removed, fishermen receive a remuneration.

In the case of the “Did you see a ray?” project, the return to society would be, in the long term, to increase stingray populations, promoting more sightings by the divers themselves and, who knows, making the Baixada Santista region a center of tourist attraction for amateur divers interested in seeing the animals.

The project has the institutional support of Instituto Linha d’Água, an NGO founded in 2013 in São Paulo that works on initiatives aimed at conserving social and marine biodiversity in coastal regions from northern Paraná to southern Rio de Janeiro.