Thank you @robertoochoahe A magic moment taken 2016, Mobula rays. Mobula rays have flat bodies and pectoral fins similar to wings, which makes it easy for them to glide through the water and fly through the air. These rays can launch more than two metres (6ft 6ins) in the air, but their landing is not as graceful with a large splash and a belly-flop back into the water. Closely related to sharks but with long, flat bodies and wing-like pectoral fins, they are ideally suited to swooping through the water yet seem equally at home in the air, so much so that they have earned the name “flying rays”. Mobula rays can reach heights of more than two metres (6ft 6ins), remaining airborne for several seconds, but their landings are much less graceful, creating a loud bang as they belly-flop back into the sea. Caption @respectanimalrights Credit © 🎬 @robertoochoahe Parties to @CITES decided at #CoP17 a year ago on 4 October 2016 to bring the amazing #mobula rays (Mobula spp.) under the CITES protection by including them in Appendix II. Increasing international trade in Mobula gill plates has led to expansion of unsustainable fisheries, which are largely unregulated and unmonitored. As a result, local catch declines of up to 96% for Mobula japanica and 99% for Mobula tarapacana in the Indo-Pacific region have been observed in fished populations over the past ten to fifteen years despite increased directed effort. Small and highly fragmented populations, exceptionally low productivity, and known aggregating behaviour make these species highly vulnerable to exploitation with limited ability to recover from a depleted state. #robertoochoahe #CITES #rays #shark #CoP17 https://www.instagram.com/p/BrNfP9Ho94t/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1a8i957xrdyv5
