Contact: Thomas Kirk Sørensen
Sharks and rays are the most endangered group of fish worldwide, due to overfishing and bycatch. Public awareness of the state of ray species in the Baltic Sea has been improving thanks to WWF’s ongoing collaboration with H&M and the Kattegatcentret. Through this partnership, WWF Denmark continues to release thornback rays into the wild with the goal of restoring shark and ray populations in Danish waters.
A key aim is to restore ray populations through raising public awareness about sharks and rays through disseminating information on their central role in the marine ecosystem. The project has also informed Danish fisheries stakeholders why it is important to release rays back into the sea as soon as possible for species recovery.
Juvenile thornback rays help raise public awareness and restore ray populations. Photo: Peter Verhog / WWF Denmark
On 21 August, six thornback rays were released by the Crown Princess Mary of Denmark. Since the start of the programme in 2019, a total of 31 rays have been released, each with two tags. Thanks to engagement through this project, fishers are reporting any catches to the Danish zoological institute. The first six rays released have shown completely natural behavior in the sea, burying themselves in sand or jetting out into Kattegat.
The thornback release project work will continue into 2021.
This article is part of the WWF Baltic Newsletter – December 2020
