Exploring waters for the pincushion ray

Pincushion rays are also known as thorny freshwater stingrays found in West and Central Africa. It’s one of only two freshwater stingray species in Africa and is now Critically Endangered. For decades it was considered a local delicacy on rare occasions, which has caused declines in their numbers. These rays grow slowly and take years to mature, so when people harvest them often during breeding season, it hits the population hard. Coupled with habitat degradation in densely populated water areas, the pincushion ray’s future is in peril if we do nothing.

In 2022, we set out to explore areas where the pincushion ray is found and raised conservation activities to protect this poorly known stingray. We ventured to search in all stretches of the Lower Niger River for the thorny freshwater stingray, in areas known for rich fish life hoping for a glimpse of the ray in the wild. These field surveys were challenging. Even local fishermen rarely catch the pincushion ray anymore due to decades of decline. The team of locals and fishers do hint that the pincushion ray does get sighted at locations where they have previously been undocumented, however, the ray remains a rare sight still. Although, the interviews that were conducted showed that knowledge about the pincushion ray is known majorly through traditional stories, where the fishers and market traders had shared the stories of this thorny ray for generations.

A fish monger identifies ray species during documentation of local knowledge on pincushion rays in a Nigerian market. Photo © Ajayi

This helped us turn local knowledge into action by creating the Nigerian Stingray Conservation Team (NSCT), the country’s first citizen science network for rays. This team isn’t made up of professional scientists in lab coats, but rather local individuals from the coastal waters and riverside communities united to save the pincushion ray.