Okay to harvest, eat rays – Masidi
KOTA KINABALU: Harvesting and consumption of manta rays are allowed in Sabah, said Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Masidi Manjun.
He said that it was not an offence to harvest manta rays for local consumption.
“But it must be accompanied with CITES permit if exported from Sabah,” he said when responding to tourists’ expression of shock when they witnessed two manta rays, 13 devil rays and a shark being landed and cut at Pulau Mabul in Semporna yesterday.
According to Masidi, all manta rays are listed in Appendix II of CITES and the Fisheries Department is the management authority in Sabah for the fish.
He also said there were two manta ray species - M.alfredi and M. birostris. Both are in the process of being listed in the 1985 Fisheries Act.
“When this is enforced, even domestic exploitation will not be allowed,” he said.
Tourists confirmed that one of the manta rays cut was an oceanic manta.
The plight of the rare marine giants was all the more poignant as many of the tourists were divers, visiting the Semporna region for the unique marine wildlife, particularly sharks and rays. To see an oceanic manta in the wild is at the top of many divers’ wish lists.
The oceanic manta (Manta birostris) is the world’s largest species of ray, and is listed as ‘Vulnerable to extinction’ on the IUCN Redlist.
More recently, it was put forward for protection under the endangered species list under the federal fisheries regulation Fisheries Act 1985, along with the great hammerhead shark, smooth hammerhead shark, winghead shark, oceanic white tip and the reef manta ray.
Under these regulations, no person shall fish for, disturb, harass, catch, kill, take, possess, sell, buy, export or transport any of the specified endangered species without written permission from the director-general of fisheries.
“I was saddened to hear about this, especially after the recent landmark steps taken by the Fisheries Department to protect these animals. We urge for the complete protection of these animals in our waters. So many tourists come to Sabah each year for our unique wildlife, including rare shark and ray species. More protection will not only ensure the health of our oceans, it will safeguard the future of our tourism industry,” said Aderick Chong, chairman of the Sabah Shark Protection Association.
Australian Institute of Marine Science researcher Johanna Zimmerhackel, who was on Pulau Mabul to conduct a scientific study into the economic value of sharks and rays to the Semporna region, stated:
“A recent study in nearby Nusa Penida, Indonesia, valued manta tourism at US$3.5 million/year while global manta tourism is estimated at more than US$75 million/year. This is significantly more than the value of a dead manta for its gill rakers which is a mere US$500 in comparison. The long-term economic benefits from manta tourism massively outweigh short-term returns from fishing.
“We need to come up with creative ways to provide alternative livelihoods and make these animals more valuable to the fishing community alive rather than dead and I believe community managed marine areas have a role to play. We need to ensure that some of the revenue brought to the area through tourism is also reaching parts of the community that currently only benefit by exploiting these creatures,” continued Chong.