Two dead eagle rays are found at the shores of Barangay San Roque in Asturias, Cebu on Sunday morning, February 17. |Photo by Asturias Menro OIC Jade Mesias
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The two adult eagle rays found dead in the shores of Asturias tow, northwest of Cebu, have been examined by personnel of the Provincial Veterinary Office today, February 19.
Jade Mesias, officer-in-charge of the town’s Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Office (Menro), told CDN Digital that samples from the viscera or internal organs of the eagle rays had been obtained for laboratory testing in order to confirm what caused the death of the eagle rays.
Mesias also said that he received a feedback from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) that the marine animals found were indeed spotted eagle rays and not sting rays as earlier reported.
The dead eagle rays were found by fishermen on the shorelines of Barangay San Roque in the town, which is 74.3 kilometers northwest of Cebu City, on Sunday morning, February 17.
Mesias suspects that the eagle rays swam to a hot spring that is also located in barangay during the high tide but were unable to return to sea when the water level dropped.
He said that it is important to know the real cause of the death of the marine animals in order to formulate measures for conservation and ecological management.| dbs