The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has officially declared the Java Stingaree extinct, marking a critical loss in marine biodiversity and representing the first marine fish extinction attributed to human activity.
The Java Stingaree, scientifically known as Urolophus javanicus, was an extremely rare species, known solely from a single specimen collected in 1862 from a fish market in Jakarta, Indonesia. Despite extensive efforts by an international research team to monitor fish markets and conduct surveys, no additional specimens of this dinner plate-sized ray have been discovered.
Benaya Simeon, a PhD candidate at Charles Darwin University (CDU), Australia, emphasizes the absence of Java Stingaree sightings in various fish landing sites along the northern coast of Java and across Indonesia, indicating a concerning reality for the species.
Lead researcher Julia Constance, also a PhD candidate at CDU, attributes the likely cause of extinction to intensive and unregulated fishing, with coastal fish catches in the Java Sea experiencing decline by the 1870s. The northern coast of Java, particularly Jakarta Bay, where the species was last known to occur, has suffered from extensive industrialization, habitat loss, and degradation, contributing to the irreversible loss of this unique marine creature.
Dr. Peter Kyne, a senior research fellow at CDU’s Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods, emphasizes that the extinction of the Java Stingaree serves as a global warning. With more than 120 Critically Endangered marine fish species worldwide, Kyne advocates for urgent measures such as habitat protection and reducing overfishing to safeguard threatened marine populations.
The declaration of the Java Stingaree’s extinction serves as a somber reminder that the loss of biodiversity in marine ecosystems requires immediate attention and comprehensive conservation strategies to prevent further irreversible damage.
