Saturday, January 5, 2013

Stung by tourism

Joining the list of species affected by man, stingrays bear the brunt of underwater tourism

During my vacation in Maldives some years ago, I would eagerly wait for the evening to feed, touch and watch the stingrays swimming in the shallow sandy waters. Although I had heard of the ‘Crocodile Hunter’, Steve Irwin’s death caused by a stingray sting, I still waded through the water without the slightest of fear! As it turns out, there aren’t just a handful of enthusiasts like me, but several yearning to get close to these usually docile fishes. The ‘Stingray City’ at Cayman Islands has been in much controversy lately, due to a research conducted by Simon Fraser University, Canada, which indicates that human interaction with the stingrays is turning out to be injurious to these aquatic animals.

The Grand Cayman Sandbank is known for its population of stingrays, which also happens to be the reason of it being swarmed with up to 2500 visitors at one time. Apart from enjoying a look at these aquatic animals, tourists also shell out a handsome amount to feed and swim with the stingrays, which in turn is affecting their immune system and making them vulnerable to diseases. There’s no doubt that these creatures evoke people’s curiosity and therefore, also enable places like Cayman Islands mint some money through tourism. But researches reveal that crowded conditions give birth to parasites, which cause health problems in stingrays and reduce their longevity and reproduction rate. Unhealthy stingrays are also rather unsightly and can affect tourism. “It comes as no surprise that stingrays are being affected due to contact with humans, and that’s because people don’t just watch them. The stingrays are captured in a confinement and fed with squids etc., which are not their usual meal,” says Upasna Khanna, an ecologist. She adds, “In the past, dolphins and penguins, which came in close contact with people for long durations have also been affected.”


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
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