Bowmouth Guitarfish - Human Interactions

Human Interactions

Throughout its range, the bowmouth guitarfish is captured intentionally and incidentally by artisanal and commercial fisheries, using trawls, gillnets, and line gear. The pectoral fins are exceedingly valuable and usually the only part brought to market, though the meat is sometimes also sold fresh or dried and salted in Asia for human consumption. Larger bowmouth guitarfish are considered a nuisance by trawl fishers, as their rough skin and thorns make them difficult to handle and may damage the rest of the catch. In Thailand, the enlarged thorns of this species are used to make bracelets.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has assessed the bowmouth guitarfish as Vulnerable; it is threatened by fishing and habitat destruction and degradation, particularly from blast fishing, coral bleaching, and siltation. Its numbers are known to have declined in Indonesian waters, where it is targeted by guitarfish gillnet fisheries. The bowmouth guitarfish has been assessed as Near Threatened off Australia, where it is not a targeted species but is taken as bycatch. The installation of turtle excluder devices (TEDs) on some Australian trawlers has benefited this species. The bowmouth guitarfish is a popular subject of public aquariums and fares relatively well, with one individual having lived for 7 years in captivity. Rare and facing many conservation threats, it has been called "the panda of the aquatic world". In 2007, the Newport Aquarium initiated the world's first captive breeding program for this species.