The Consumption Characteristics Of Mobulid Ray Gill Raker And Its Influence On Mobulid Ray Protection In Mainland China

Mobulid ray is a general term for Mobulidae animals,whose population has declined significantly in the past 20 years,affected by biological fragility,fishery and its irregular management,pollution of the marine environment,and trade of its products.Among these,trade of mobulid ray gill raker in mainland China is considered to be one of the main reasons for the population decline of the mobulid ray species.Therefore,it is of great significance to conduct research on the consumption of mobulid ray gill raker in mainland China,explore its consumption characteristics and its impact on the protection of this species.This study was conducted in Guangzhou,the main consumption place of mobulid ray gill raker in mainland China,from May to July,2019.Qingping Chinese herbal medicine market and Yide Road seafood dry goods market,the main trade market of mobulid ray gill raker in Guangzhou,were chosen as primary sources to collect data for analysis.Locally,6 327 people were randomly surveyed,of which,only 474 indicated that they had consumed mobulid ray gill raker before.For those who had consumed mobulid ray gill raker,face-to-face interviews were made to investigate the basic consumption characteristics,consumption awareness and protection consciousness by a semi-structured questionnaire,and to study consumption preference in a choice experiment.A total of 428 questionnaires were distributed,of which 420 were valid,with an effective rate of 98.1%.Likert scale was used to process and assign the cognitive data of consumers(their cognitive level of mobulid ray gill raker,relationship between mobulid ray and human beings,and law);Chi square test was applied to analyze consumers of mobulid ray gill raker;the method of classification and regression tree(CART)was applied to study the influence of consumers' basic information on mobulid ray protection awareness,the results of which were tested by using the general linear model(GLM),and parameters of which were estimated and determined through the multi-nominal logit model(MNL)and the latent class model(LCM),so as to analyze consumers'consumption preferences,possible sources of heterogeneity and willingness to pay(WTP)of mobulid ray gill raker.The results are as follows:1)Consumers of mobulid ray gill raker were mainly high-income freelancers,of which,66.9%purchased gill raker for its medicinal effect,30.5%did this for its health function,more than 70%learned the function of gill raker through relatives,friends or distributors,77.6%bought gill rakers from the Chinese herbal medicine market,more than one-third chose to consume in summer,and 61.2%preferred cheap gill rakers.2)52%of consumers did not know that gill raker came from mobulid ray,and 91%of consumers had no knowledge of fishing countries of mobulid ray,but they basically(78%)agreed that its population was declining,and 34%of them regarded illegal and unsustainable fishing and 32%blamed environmental pollution and habitat destruction for its population decline.3)Consumers' awareness of mobulid ray protection(awareness of its relationship with human relationship and legal awareness)was weak influenced by age and level of education,85.2%of which had little knowledge of the relationship between mobulid ray and human beings,65.5%had no idea of Regulations on the Management of Aquatic Wildlife,and 67.4%did not know the specific content of the Fisheries Law.Although consumers' knowledge of mobulid ray and gill raker was little and their awareness of protection was weak,30.5%of consumers would stop consumption on mobulid ray once the law clearly forbid it.4)Generally,consumers preferred non-protected and large chunks of gill rakers and 72%of them would like to buy imported ones.At the same time,consumers expected a lower price of gill raker.Though they had a clear preference to large chunks of gill raker,they would still choose cheaper and smaller ones,namely spinetail mobula(Mobula japanica)and bentfin devil ray(Mobula thurstoni),considering the price.Consumers in Hong Kong,China,preferred large chunks of gill raker,namely gill rakers of giant manta ray(Manta birostris)and chilean devil ray(Mobula tarapacana),which are more endangered than spinetail mobula and bentfin devil ray in population.In addition,although consumers preferred large,imported gill rakers,the consciousness of refusing to consume protected mobulid ray' gill rakers had prompted them to stop consuming it or reduce their consumption frequency,while mobulid ray fishing remains high.Based on the analysis and discussion of the above results,the following conclusions can be drawn.1)In the Chinese market,people have few sources of knowledge on mobulid ray gill raker and relatively single channel of purchasing it,so the consumption on mobulid ray gill raker is niche and small in amount,which also has obvious seasonal characteristics.2)The consumption of gill raker has little to do with the decline in the population of mobulid ray.3)It is unscientific to attribute the decline in its population to the consumption of gill raker in China.Regarding the consumption characteristics of gill raker and the protection status of mobulid ray,we suggest:1.Strengthening the popularization of mobulid ray protection science in a targeted manner;2.Strengthening trade management;3.Strengthening international cooperation and data collection.