{"id":14160,"date":"2025-02-19T06:35:48","date_gmt":"2025-02-19T06:35:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/topat10.com\/?p=14160"},"modified":"2025-02-19T06:35:48","modified_gmt":"2025-02-19T06:35:48","slug":"mobulas-an-aquatic-wonder-of-the-gulf-of-california-are-disappearing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/topat10.com\/?p=14160","title":{"rendered":"Mobulas, an Aquatic Wonder of the Gulf of California, Are Disappearing"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n

Years ago, on the Gulf of California, Palacios began implanting small acoustic devices in rays that transform them into data messengers. Fishermen, hired for the task, capture the animals and then return them to the water. This strategy is known as passive acoustic telemetry, and although seemingly invasive, is carried out with extreme care. Once released, the animals resume their swim.<\/p>\n

Each time a tagged animal passes near an underwater receiver, the date and duration of its visit is recorded. With this data, in 2021 Palacio was able to describe<\/strong><\/a> for the first time a breeding area of M. munkiana<\/em> in a bay in the Gulf of California. To further reconstruct the life history of these creatures, the scientist collects testimonies from fishermen and observes their monumental groups using drones.<\/p>\n

Palacios sleeps little these days. He spends his nights watching the fishermen of bottom-spotted stingrays, a commercial and legally fished species in Mexico, as they cast their nets into the sea. In those nets, mobulas are caught incidentally. One experiment of his consisted of more than 40 nights documenting the situation and assessing whether the use of lighter nets could reduce bycatch.<\/p>\n

A Lack of Strict Protection<\/h2>\n

Because of their supposed medicinal properties, the meat and gill plates of mobulas are increasingly in demand in Asia. Palacios recently led a study to try to understand the magnitude of the problem, which involved 100 surveys and interviews in 19 countries. The research team analyzed data from 75 nations, including photos and records of seizures in Palestine, Somalia, Vietnam, and Hong Kong.<\/p>\n

\n