Fishers' interactions with endangered “rhinorays” in Karimunjawa National Park, and factors influencing willingness to engage in pro-conservation behavior

Abstract

The “rhinorays” (giant guitarfish-Glaucostegidae and wedgefish-Rhinidae) are a critically endangered group of “shark-like rays,” which have experienced steep global population declines in the past decade due to overfishing. Their slow life histories and high market value increase the risk of trade-driven extinction and lead to trade-offs between conservation objectives and fishers' economic objectives. As such, it is important to understand the social and ecological dimensions of risk to rhinorays to identify feasible conservation interventions. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 162 small-scale fishers in Karimunjawa National Park (KJNP), Indonesia. We collected data on fisher interactions with rhinorays, the technical and socio-economic characteristics of the fisheries, key risks to rhinorays, and potential leverage points for management, including feasible pro-conservation actions that fishers could engage in. We then constructed a linear model to identify socio-demographic predictors of fishers' stated willingness to engage in pro-conservation actions for rhinorays (specifically, willingness to release), to inform the design of future interventions. Our results indicate that socio-economic factors—fishers' perceived income contribution from catches of rhinorays and formal education levels—were significant predicators of fishers' willingness to release rhinorays. In contrast, awareness of rhinorays threat status was not a significant predictor. These findings are a first step toward understanding barriers and opportunities for engaging fishers in rhinorays conservation in KJNP. Our findings and recommendations also offer lessons learned for other marine conservation interventions at the intersection between small-scale fisheries management, marine protected areas, and marine megafauna conservation.