In mid September, my five year old son and I witnessed a group of men attempting to hook our local stingray “Big Bob” at Bellambi boat ramp in the Illawarra.  As frequent visitors to the jetty (we come regularly and specifically to see Big Bob), we were utterly heartbroken to see the event unfold on that particular Saturday afternoon.  My son Oscar was in tears and pleading with them to stop but they were ignoring him and continuing with their attempt at a trophy kill.  One man had Big Bob on his line and he was keen for the fight.  Two men were filming the fight on their iPhones, with the footage destined to be uploaded somewhere I am sure.  Oscar was asking the men to “Please stop! Don’t kill Big Bob!” He was so distraught at seeing his friend being caught that he told me, “Mummy, my heart is crying!”  After pleading with the men to no avail, Oscar and I decided we couldn’t witness this anymore.  As we got into the car we saw the line snap.  The men had a whole fish that they were cutting chunks of meat off to use as bait.  They still had half a fish left so I don’t believe that would’ve been their last attempt.  As we drove out of the carpark, Oscar said through his tears, “ Mummy, my heart isn’t crying anymore.  It’s drowning….”

We are pleased to say that three weeks later, Big Bob has been sighted again at his boat ramp.  Many other rays around NSW aren't so lucky. As far as I am aware, there are no laws to protect rays that frequent jetties and boat ramps here in NSW.  I believe they need protection very similar to the protection introduced into Victoria.  In Victoria they are not allowed to be fished within 400m of a jetty or boat ramp and it is illegal to catch all rays measuring over 1.5m in Victorian waters.  These animals only frequent these places because of fisherman leaving behind scraps and these rays become known and loved by their local communities.

Our story was picked up by ABC Illawarra Radio and through that interview and via Facebook it seems that a lot of people feel the same as me.  

By signing this petition, you can help Oscar and I do our best to protect "Big Bob" and the other rays of NSW as we ask for Fisheries NSW to give them the same protection as in Victoria.