PUT ON RAY AWAY
THE REAL STING IN FISHY TALE
THE reputation of stingrays got tainted with the death of Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin, but a researcher believes they could be a critical part of the city’s marine eco-system.
Griffith University PhD candidate Ciaran Hyde is researching the movements and behaviours of the species, whose population, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List, has declined in shallow tidal habitat due to the construction of canal-front homes.
Ms Hyde said the whole food chain could be at risk because nothing was known about the ecology of the stingray species.
“We know they can grow to 2m in width and are found from Foster to Bundaberg, but we know nothing about their ecology,” Ms Hyde said.
“We don’t even know where they go in winter – they seem to disappear in the cooler months.”
She said she was one of the few marine researchers in Australia to focus specifically on stingrays with her tagging program.
“There’s so much more research on their biology and anatomy and on eco-tourism because of manta rays but when it comes to ecology – why they do what they do, where they go – it’s a big unknown,” she said.
She said the fish had a bad reputation because of their tail barb’s painful sting, which killed conservationist Mr Irwin in 2006.
However Ms Hyde, who said she was once bitten on the hand by a shark while feeding dolphins, said stingrays did not pose a major safety risk.
“They’re not a risk, people usually only get hurt by accidentally stepping on them,” she said.
Ms Hyde urged fishermen to be careful to avoid unintentionally catching stingrays and not to target them for use as shark bait.
“You could be pulling the last of a species out of the water, you just don’t know.”
WE DON’T EVEN KNOW WHERE THEY GO IN WINTER — THEY SEEM TO DISAPPEAR IN THE COOLER MONTHS CIARAN HYDE