California de-barbing wild rays!?

De-barbing stingrays in ‘Ray Bay’ - Framework - Photos and Video - Visual Storytelling from the Los Angeles Times

I haven't posted here in a while (been lurking lately tho) but i saw this article on the la times picture site, and it made me sick and angry....

Seriously... I thought of surfers as environmentalists, but then I see university professors involved in this as well and that's when I got angry.

What's next, de-clawing bears? De-taloning eagles? Filing down sharks teeth?

 

The taming of nature, failed again.

 

They do this in Florida as well. Its useless, the barbs grow back. This doesn't actually hurt the fish, and scientists mandate doing this. In fact, when tagging rays, they will themselves often remove the barb. During fishing, if you are to catch a ray, you are to remove the barb. I really don't see what the problem is, its not like they are cutting the tails off. It doesn't harm the fish (they don't need a barb on a daily basis) and it keeps people from getting harmed.

 

The barbs grow back. The purpose is to keep swimmers from being stung. Shuffling your feet wouldn't scare them off. Most likely it would trigger their instincts in thinking there is a predator shifting through the sand. It is either de-barb them or hunt them to extinction to avoid the potential of getting stung.

 

Mmmmm, I think it's respect nature for what it is. :-[

 

I fish off the coast of Florida all the time and always end up hooking a massive ray 4 foot across and cut the barbs off. I as well as my family swim in the area as well, so seeing a 4 foot ray with a 6 inch barb is kind of daunting.

De-clawing/taloning other animals? Isn't that a bit extreme? I know you're being sarcastic but its literally life or death with rays. Chances of getting mauled by an eagle is very unlikely. And there are known ways to fight off a bear. Get struck by a ray and you're lucky if you aren't dead from bleeding out or a massive infection.

 

well im reading it now imo long as they are not fishing for the rays just to debarb them its fine if a scientist or a fisherman does it just because they happen to catch them but at the same time i see where it can be a lil bit excessive being that the barbs just grow back anyways ........what a waste of time and resources

 

when the general population learns to live with nature, instead of this hair brain idea that we are superior and that we can control it, the world will be better place.

 

Resources? Are ray barbs resources? lol
I think if you are on a boat, fishing and you happen to catch a ray, cut the barb off and be done, it takes like 5 minutes at the most.

 

Scientists could be collecting the barbs to do research on the venom. As far as I know there is no anti-venom for rays yet. It really doesn't take long to cut it off. It's perfectly safe for the animal as well since it was designed to break off.