Best Beware Thy Stingray

[Syoung]

Thanks for sharing. I do have a question though. I hear people talk about catching them all the time but nothing about if they keep them for food or let them go. Do people eat stingrays? Just wondering. I know if I  catch one I am going to think real hard about just cutting the line. Not sure I want to mess with one myself.

We eat every southern stingray we kill. I don't really like cownose as much so I give most of that away. Cownose need to be soaked in milk or saltwater overnight to remove a strong liver like taste from the meat.

It has been illegal to mark dogfish and rays as scallops for a long time. Not to say it is not still done.

By the way, one number isn't known: the exact stingray population count, which has shrunk 20 percent in the past decade. With this lady's help, at least one more will be added to this number...and with a tale to tell.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 huh what??

The cownose population has increased by 30-40% in the last few years as a result from the Asian shark finning boats. There is an estimated 50,000,000+ cownose entering the Chesapeake Bay every summer. A ray will consume 50-100% of it's 40lb(average) body weight every day.

The southern population seems to be steady but an increase in popularity as a bowfishing species could really hurt the amazing Chincoteague population. I myself have cut back hunting southerns and target cownose after we shoot 2 southerns per person.

As for eating them I like to remove all the tendons between the strands of meat and dice it up and stir fry it or to add to Gumbo or Jumbalaya or grind it up to use as burger in Dirty Rice.

[dfran]

We eat every southern stingray we kill. I don't really like cownose as much so I give most of that away. Cownose need to be soaked in milk or saltwater overnight to remove a strong liver like taste from the meat.

It has been illegal to mark dogfish and rays as scallops for a long time. Not to say it is not still done.

The cownose population has increased by 30-40% in the last few years as a result from the Asian shark finning boats. There is an estimated 50,000,000+ cownose entering the Chesapeake Bay every summer. A ray will consume 50-100% of it's 40lb(average) body weight every day.

The southern population seems to be steady but an increase in popularity as a bowfishing species could really hurt the amazing Chincoteague population. I myself have cut back hunting southerns and target cownose after we shoot 2 southerns per person.

As for eating them I like to remove all the tendons between the strands of meat and dice it up and stir fry it or to add to Gumbo or Jumbalaya or grind it up to use as burger in Dirty Rice.

What do the Cownose rays eat? Just a little quick math here. If 50 million rays in the bay eat 20#'s a day(1/2 there average weight) that is 1 billion #'s per day of thier food. What % of thier food is crabs? Even if they only eat 2#'s of crabs a day that = 100 million #'s of crabs a day. I think DNR should be regulating the rays not the crabbers.

[jack1747]

09-03 NOTICE OF INTENT TO PAY $0.30 PER POUND FOR THE PROCESSING OF COW NOSED RAYS HARVESTED IN THE WATERS OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA FOR THE 2009 OYSTER REPLENISHMENT PROGRAM:  DEADLINE 3/25/09

http://www.mrc.state.va.us/procurement/09-03_cow-nosed-ray-notice_02-26-09.pdf

[Potty Mouth]

09-03 NOTICE OF INTENT TO PAY $0.30 PER POUND FOR THE PROCESSING OF COW NOSED RAYS HARVESTED IN THE WATERS OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA FOR THE 2009 OYSTER REPLENISHMENT PROGRAM:  DEADLINE 3/25/09

http://www.mrc.state.va.us/procurement/09-03_cow-nosed-ray-notice_02-26-09.pdf

Good deal... at least a step towards more crab and less cow-nose... large or small step we will see... now if some waterman bite and go get em, we may even notice an impact.  How are the cow-nose to be fished, gill net?  Seems like a heavy haul and a lot of by-catch if they are to be caught by net.

[Syoung]

What do the Cownose rays eat? Just a little quick math here. If 50 million rays in the bay eat 20#'s a day(1/2 there average weight) that is 1 billion #'s per day of thier food. What % of thier food is crabs? Even if they only eat 2#'s of crabs a day that = 100 million #'s of crabs a day. I think DNR should be regulating the rays not the crabbers.

They are scared to death of the increase in cownose. I have cut rays open with 1 dozen softshells in them. They have been trying to develop a market for them. When it takes 5 minutes to get 5lbs of mediocre meat it does not make it a profitable commercial resource. Sharks and rays are much alike and build ammonia as soon as it is on board. Cownose or southerns require almost instant meat processing which is not cost efficient.

[indoe]

I was just wondering if anyone has tried using them for crab bait? I know I have caught a few in my life time and always just threw them back. I might try and keep one or two and put them in my traps.