Conserving the Chilean eagle ray
In the Humboldt Current System off Peru’s coast, the abundance of the Chilean eagle ray is high. It is endemic to this system, but is under huge fishing pressure as the most landed ray species in Peru. Nelly is gathering preliminary information about the age and growth of the Chilean eagle ray to guide the management of its fishery. She wants to establish a baseline for determining the minimum catch size, which is needed to help manage its mortality in fisheries. She will also train artisanal fishers of Pucusana to promote the sustainable fishing of sharks and rays, emphasising the Chilean eagle ray.
Nelly Giannina Peña Cutimbo
I am a biologist with a degree from the Universidad Nacional Federico Villarreal (UNFV) in Lima, Peru, and the daughter and a relative of artisanal fishers, so I have always had a strong connection with the marine environment. I am dedicated to the research of elasmobranchs, with an emphasis on rays, and I belong to the NGO ProDelphinus as an associate researcher. At the same time, I have done some volunteer work and courses at shark- and ray-related organisations and institutions such as Misión Raya, the Squalab chondrichthyan study and research laboratory in Peru and the Chondrolab chondrichthyan...
Discovering the age and growth of an eagle ray endemic to the Humboldt Current
The objective of the project is to generate preliminary information about the age and growth of the Chilean eagle ray, a species endemic to the Humboldt Current System, to guide the management of its fishery. We also aim to train artisanal fishers in Pucusana to practise sustainable elasmobranch fishing, with an emphasis on the Chilean eagle ray.
The Chilean eagle ray is one of the most landed rays in Peru and its vulnerability becomes clear when this alarming fishing pressure is added to its biological characteristics of slow growth and a low rate of reproduction.. This project will generate preliminary information about the age and growth of this ray for better fishery management, and the fishermen from Pucusana, Peru, will be given training to fish for this species sustainably.
The study is being carried out in the Humboldt Current System off the coast of Peru. This part of the south-eastern Pacific Ocean has a high abundance of the endemic Chilean eagle ray Myliobatis chilensis and is characterised by coastal outcrops and a highly productive – and important – artisanal fishery. The Chilean eagle ray has historically been among the most frequently caught species in the Pacific Ocean, and its genus, Myliobatis, is one of the most caught in Peru, where Pucusana stands out as a major landing port for the species. Studies have been conducted on its biology and ecology, such as its diet and, to a limited extent, on its reproduction, but little is known about its age and growth. Although the Chilean eagle ray is in high commercial demand, particularly for its use in typical Peruvian dishes – like chinguirito, tortilla de raya, apanado and sudado – there is no minimum catch size for the species and no periods when fishing for it is prohibited. Also taking into account the increased fishing pressure, including bycatch in the artisanal purse-seine fishery in Peru, this has resulted in the Chilean eagle ray being classified as Vulnerable by the IUCN. Therefore, this project seeks to provide preliminary information about the age and growth of the Chilean eagle ray, which will serve as a baseline to improve fisheries management of the species and contribute to its conservation.
- To generate preliminary information about the age and growth of the Chilean eagle ray to guide the management of its fishery. In this way, a baseline can be established for determining the minimum catch size.
- To train artisanal fishers of Pucusana to promote the sustainable fishing of elasmobranchs, with emphasis on the Chilean eagle ray.