Sydney diving community is in shock after local divers came across a gruesome discovery on Friday night.
Local Divers discovered the two resident Bull Rays at Chowder Bay in Mosman with their wings cut off. The divers were confronted by a horrific scene of “barbaric cruelty”.
The Bull Rays – both well-known to divers at Chowder Bay were aged at least 20 years old and we believe they were targeted by fishermen last Friday night, then mutilated and thrown off the jetty. Chowder Bay jetty is a popular fishing area as well as Dive site.
The Friends of Chowder Bay Face Book Group co founder Jayne Jenkins said “the two rays were very much part of our underwater world, and it honestly feels like we’ve lost family members, the local diving community is devastated by the senseless violence”.
“The largest ray was over three metres and weighed around 250kg,”
“believed to be lured by chicken bait (found on the seabed), then hooked, and brought to the surface to go through the act of having its wings cut off.
“One man alone could not perform a task like this, it must have been a coordinated effort with several accomplices.”
We believe both rays were cut up while still alive, and then thrown back into the water to die.
“These people must have used a large vehicle to transport their catch but no one seems to have witnessed anything..”
“They were very tame creatures who would often swim up to say hello, and scavengers of the ocean floor cleaning up dumped fishing bait
“I am appalled and sickened by the suffering they endured.”
Chowder Bay is a special area and home to the “Sea Horse Hotels” the largest breeding area in the world for the threatened species of whites seahorses. We are proud of the area and it is so sad that this can happen. We are now trying to get all rays in NSW protected so that this act of cruelty cannot happen again.
Photos by Jayne Jenkins
