Smithsonian Cownose Ray Tagging Project

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Video Title: Smithsonian Cownose Ray Tagging Project
Description: These cownose rays are waiting in a holding tank (a kiddie pool) to be tagged with acoustic transmitters. The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) has tagged 35 cownose rays (so far!) from the Chesapeake Bay as part of a project that aims to improve understanding of cownose ray behavior and migration. Cownose rays, which are a native, migratory species in the Chesapeake Bay, enter the Bay in May, give birth to free-swimming offspring (called a "pup") in June, mate in July, and leave the Bay by October to return to their wintering grounds. While they are currently thought to be rather abundant in the Bay, cownose rays are incredibly prone to over-fishing due to the fact that they are slow-growing and only give birth to one pup a season. It would be difficult for them to come back from a severe decline in population. For this reason, cownose rays have been designated as "near-threatened" on the IUCN Red List. SERC hopes that their project will shed some light on the situation and will be able to provide scientific data that can help to inform a sustainable cownose ray fishery in the future. A sustainable fishery would both help control cownose ray populations while protecting them from being over-fished.
Video Duration: 1 min 32 sec
YouTube Keywords: Environment Science Marine Biology Forestry Chemistry Wetlands Estuaries Ecosystems Watersheds