Protected stingray species left dead on Tennyson Beach

A photographer has taken to social media to express his outrage after he came across a stingray damaged and discarded on the shore of a western suburbs beach.

A local diver and photographer has taken to social media to express his outrage after he came across a ‘discarded’ stingray on the shore of Tennyson Beach.

Andy, known as Crab.e.cam on social media, a free diver, kayaker and photographer, came across a two metre Smooth Ray stingray on the coast on January 16.

He posted a range of photos of the sea creature along with a lengthy caption which garnered over a thousand likes and over 250 comments.

“Sad and angry tonight,” he wrote on Facebook.

“She’s a discarded corpse on Tennyson beach. Caught and landed, where the tail spine was cut off as souvenir (fresh wound) and left dead.

The stingray near Andy’s fully grown five year old Koolie dog. Picture: Crab.e.cam

“Rays over 1m disc size are fully protected.

“It is just effing (sic) wrong! For sport? For fun? I can’t write what I want to say to those who did this.

“We are so fortunate to have wildlife like this in our city, this is how we treat it.”

A spokesperson from the Department of Primary Industry and Regions (PIRSA) said they had received reports of a stingray being found at Tennyson.

“It appears from these photos that the fisher attempted to release the ray. PIRSA is not investigating further as there is no evidence of an offence occurring,” they said.

“Recreational fishing for rays from a boat, jetty or shore is lawful in South Australia with most of the fishers adopting catch and release practices.

Andy’s social media post garnered over a thousand reactions and over 250 comments. Picture: Crab.e.cam

A spokesperson from the PIRSA said they are not investigating further as there is no evidence of an offence occurring. Picture: Crab.e.cam

One of Andy’s followers commented on his post saying he knew who was responsible for the ray being on the shore.

“I have confronted them and they were very aggressive,” he wrote.

“I’ve lived here for 16 years and haven’t seen fisheries one single time … as long as there’s no consequences, they won’t stop.”

The PIRSA spokesperson said fishers were urged to report any suspicious or illegal fishing activity via the Fishwatch 24-hour hotline on 1800 065 522 or the SA Fishing app.