26,000+ Signatures! 44 amazing Financial Supporters of the Petition! Thanks to you ALL for signing, sharing and supporting this petition! DETAILED UPDATE: Thanks to each one of you for your proactive support for the rays of Port Phillip Bay, Melbourne, Australia! We are making some EXCELLENT progress and we will remain committed to seeing a ban on the killing of these beautiful marine animals. Our progress to date includes: * MEETING WITH FISHERIES VICTORIA: 28 April Face to Face Meeting with Executive Director of Fisheries Victoria Travis Dowling and Director of Education and Enforcement Ian Parks who later emailed us to say 'Given the clear community concern we will be going forward with erecting sings at piers and jetties on the Mornington Peninsula. We will be in touch soon to discuss further other steps we will be taking.' We also have also had phone meetings with representatives of VRFish (Victorian recreational fishing peak body), BIAV (Boating Industry Association of Victoria) and other key individuals in the fishing industry who share our concerns. And MANY recreational fishers share our deep concerns and have expressed their desire for rays to be protected in Port Phillip Bay e.g. "Would love to see the Rays and Skates on the protected list of marine life in our bays" ~ Bay Fish N Trips, Mornington, Victoria MEDIA COVERAGE & KEY FISHING INDUSTRY SUPPORT! Here's a small sample ... * Daily Mail: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4482152/Photos-emerge-fiddler-rays-unlawfully-slaughtered.html * 'Talking Fishing' host David Kramer has dedicated long segments to the issue of a ban on killing ray on two consecutive programs including panel discussions. David Kramer advocated a ban on taking rays: 1st Episode: Watch from 27:38 and again 40:30-41:53 https://www.youtube.com/embed/7360WAXbkKA?ecver=2 2nd Episode: Watch 32:20-41:20 https://www.youtube.com/embed/-x-Yf8LJlzA?ecver=2 * Radio Interviews: ABC 771 Drive Radio with Raf Epstein, Radio Marinara RRR, Out of the Blue 3CR Radio * Newspapers: Herald Sun, Mornington Peninsula Leader and The News Peninsula have all published articles * You can follow our continuing progress on our new public Facebook page Rays Awareness: https://www.facebook.com/Rays-Awareness-168992960290905/ Here's our latest media release which contains links to disturbing video evidence: More Rays Attacked at Mornington Peninsula Piers Following the well publicised killing of a huge resident smooth ray on 2 April at Rye Pier, Melbourne that sparked a petition of over 25,000 signatures to ban the killing of rays in Port Phillip Bay, another attack occurred at the same pier on Wednesday evening, 3 May. Four fiddler rays (more commonly known as ‘banjo sharks’) were caught by an unidentified individual on the pier before being dealt a severe cranial split. All four animals were returned to the water as ‘unwanted’ catch in this condition (an offence against Fisheries Victoria 2009, Regulation 101: Offence to fail to return fish to water without injury or damage). At least one of the animals was still alive after sustaining this injury, as caught on disturbing video by local scuba diving instructor Jane Bowman: https://youtu.be/CUNQ5p9woAk Divers who entered the water the following morning to euthanise the animal found it already dead, along with a fifth banjo that had been knifed in the head. While the slaughter of these rays was particularly brutal, Melbourne-based Project Banjo Action Group are collating a growing body of evidence that such attacks against rays in Port Phillip Bay are not isolated events. Testimonials and photographic evidence within the 700+ strong ray advocacy group are evidence that banjos have been slaughtered as unwanted catch regularly for many years across the piers of Port Phillip Bay and Westernport, including but not limited to Portsea, Blairgowrie, Rye and Flinders. “This goes beyond the illegal slaughter of unwanted catch. Often it’s a matter of animal cruelty. Increasingly we’re finding rays that are thrown back in the water, cut in half, mutilated and maimed but still alive: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmSoPDPlv44 Some have their mouths torn out to salvage a cheap fishing hook, then are thrown back in to die. Last week one diver filmed a ray that had been paralysed by a knife wound, then thrown back alive: https://youtu.be/K4TOzfssiHs Three days later another diver filmed the same ray still alive and had to put it out of its misery: https://youtu.be/rSjglhqIcBA It is not uncommon for recreational divers to see between four and six dead rays on a dive at the fishing end of the piers. One diver reports seeing 18 dead and discarded rays plus a less commonly sighted eagle ray on a single dive,” Project Banjo Coordinator PT Hirschfield said. It’s not only scuba divers, snorkelers and free divers who are appalled by the mistreatment of rays throughout the bay. Many members of the fishing community have also expressed concern. Representatives of Project Banjo have met with Fisheries Victoria Executive Director Travis Dowling and Director of Education and Enforcement Ian Parks to discuss ways in which the socially unacceptable treatment of wanted and unwanted rays might be addressed through signage on piers, broader community awareness, educational initiatives, monitoring efforts, fines for offenders and potential regulatory reforms. The Project Banjo Action Group is advocating a ban on killing rays in Port Phillip Bay, as per their petition which currently has 25,000+ signatures: https://www.change.org/p/stop-the-senseless-slaughter-of-rays A clear precedent was set in WA in 2015. Smooth rays and black rays were banned from being taken in Hamelin Bay when public outcry erupted after a much-loved resident smooth ray was killed before horrified onlookers. This protection of rays was later extended in the West and South Coast Bioregions (Kalbarri to the South Australian border). In response to the recent spate of banjo deaths, the CEO of peak Victorian recreational fishing body VRFish, Michael Burgess says “VRFish encourages all fishers to return unwanted rays to the water unharmed and comply with fishing regulations. We all need to work together to stamp out this unacceptable and illegal behaviour. Rays play an important role in maintaining healthy marine ecosystems and are like the vacuum cleaners of the ocean floor. If fishers observe illegal fishing activity, including the deliberate harming of non-target species such as rays, toadfish and native seastars, they should report instances to Fisheries Victoria on 13 3474 (13FISH)” THANK YOU ALL for caring to make a difference! #raysawareness #bayofrays #onlythebeginning