Critically endangered shark ray released off Taitung

Kaohsiung, June 23 (CNA) A critically endangered shark ray born in Singapore to a mother originally from waters off eastern Taiwan was fitted with a satellite tag and released off Taitung on Monday as part of a cross-border conservation initiative, Taiwan's Ocean Conservation Administration (OCA) said Tuesday.

The juvenile shark ray (波口鱟頭鱝), also known as the bowmouth guitarfish and locally as the "rice spoon shark" (飯匙鯊), was provided by the Singapore Oceanarium at Resorts World Sentosa, where an adult female shark ray originally from eastern Taiwan gave birth to several pups in 2025, the OCA said.

The agency said the project aims to support wild populations by releasing offspring bred in public aquariums after they have survived the vulnerable early stages of life under professional care.

The pup arrived in Taiwan on June 4 and was cared for at facilities in Taoyuan and Pingtung before being transported to Chenggong Fishing Port in Taitung County on Monday, the OCA said.

After its condition was confirmed to be stable, researchers attached a satellite tag before taking the fish offshore aboard a research vessel and releasing it into the wild, according to the agency.

OCA Director-General Lu Shiau-yun (陸曉筠) said the initiative is an attempt to conserve the species, and that data gathered from the satellite tag on its behavior and habitat use will help inform future conservation planning.

The OCA said the cross-border conservation project involved multiple domestic and international teams. The National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium assisted with transportation and pre-release care, while a team from National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology carried out the tagging and release work.

According to the OCA, the bowmouth guitarfish is a ray species rather than a shark, despite its common Chinese nicknames such as "rice spoon shark" and "horseshoe-crab shark." It is characterized by a wave-shaped mouth and a rounded head resembling that of a horseshoe crab.

The species is distributed from the Indian Ocean to the western Pacific and in Taiwan is found mainly in waters off the east coast and around Penghu. It typically inhabits rocky and coral reef areas, feeding on crustaceans such as lobsters that it hunts in rock crevices.

Bowmouth guitarfish are ovoviviparous, meaning their embryos develop inside eggs that hatch within the mother's body. They typically produce two to 11 pups per litter. Newborns measure about 46-48 centimeters in length, while adults can grow to about 2.7 meters.

The species is listed as Critically Endangered (CR) on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.