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The cownosed ray, Rhinoptera bonasus (Family: Myliobatidae), is a demersal elasmobranch inhabiting the coastal
waters of the Eastern Atlantic from New England throughout the Gulf of Mexico and as far south as northern Brazil (Robins et al. 1986). They are most easily identified by the blunt, squarish snout with a
median indentation. Cownosed rays feed on a variety of crustaceans and mollusks, including oysters and large schools have been reported migrating into brackish waters where they decimate commercial oyster beds (Merriner
and Smith 1979). The objective of this experiment was to determine if shark repellent technologies could be exploited to control cownose ray behavior. The potential use of these selective non-lethal repellent
technologies involves the reduction of cownose Ray interactions with oyster beds in the Chesapeake Bay. |
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