Characteristics of Fiji’s small-scale ray fishery and its relevance to food security

Sharks and rays are a relevant component of Fiji's small-scale fishery. However, existing data are skewed towards sharks, leaving fishery activities for rays less understood. To document species-specific catch numbers, sex, and age-classes of captured rays, the Suva fish market on Fiji's main island Viti Levu was surveyed for one year from January 2022 to January 2023. Among the 192 individual rays recorded in Suva, five species were visually identified: maskray (Neotrygon sp.), spotted eagle ray (Aetobatus ocellatus), pink whipray (Pateobatis fai), Oceania fantail ray (Taeniura lessoni), and porcupine ray (Urogymnus asperrimus). DNA barcoding did not provide unequivocal species confirmation. The maskray and spotted eagle ray were the most captured and traded species. To further characterize the fishery and to capture the relevance of rays to food security, 84 fishers and market vendors were interviewed in coastal communities and at local fish markets. The interviews revealed that 70.4% of the interviewees caught rays, of which 60% reported to spear them. Rays were considered a moderately important resource but were particularly relevant to food security as substitute for bony fish. Given the life histories and global declines of many ray species, explicitly considering rays in management arrangements for coastal fisheries and enhancing compliance and enforcement of existing regulations, is vital to safeguard Fiji's coastal ray populations. Overall, these findings provide baseline information for monitoring Fiji's small-scale ray fishery.