>> NARRATOR: In the shallow,
turquoise, clear waters

of Grand Cayman's North Sound,

dozens of wild
southern stingrays

glide effortlessly
through the sea.

>> These southern rays
are very, very important

to the Cayman Islands
from an ecotourism perspective.

>> NARRATOR: Tourists from all
over the world come to the site

to interact with the animals.

>> You don't get that
kind of experience

anywhere else in the world.

>> It's the number one water
sports attraction on the island.

>> It's a hundred foot vis,

it's generally calm and the
animals are very conditioned.

>> NARRATOR: Thousands of people
each year visit the iconic

stingrays of Grand Cayman,

and for more than a decade

researchers have been
studying the animals.

Among other things, they want
to find out what impact

human interaction might have
on the fish.

>> From boat fuel, sunscreen,
people eliminating in the water,

all of the different types of
things that they're exposed to

at the sandbar in really
high concentrations

could certainly be very
detrimental to them long term.

Because the numbers of people
that are visiting the sandbar

just grow and grow every year.

>> The animals have
a wretched time

when there's
too many people there.

They become very flighty,
they keep moving all the time,

they stay on the perimeter of
the sandbar and don't interact.

So it's a double edged sword--
how much is too much?

>> This is our
national treasure.

Why not enjoy it, you know?

But don't abuse it.

>> Our concern
is, first and foremost,

the welfare of the rays.

Secondarily, obviously very
importantly, the experience

of the visitors to our islands.

And we probably have a million
people a year

who visit the stingray.

So, it is clearly something that
is extremely important to us,

but it's equally important
that we get the balance right.

♪ ♪

>> Major funding
for this program

was provided by
the Batchelor Foundation,

encouraging people
to preserve and protect

America's underwater resources.

And by Divers Direct
Emocean Club,

inspiring the pursuit
of tropical adventures

and scuba diving.

And by the Do Unto Others Trust.

♪ ♪

>> NARRATOR: The Cayman Islands

are a popular travel destination
in the western Caribbean.

Grand Cayman, the largest
of the country's three islands,

is famous the world over
as a major banking center,

and for its beautiful beaches
and marine environment.

And for the last
30 years or so,

the island has also become known
for its tame stingrays

that congregate in the shallow
waters of the North Sound.

>> Fishermen would come
inside to the area

because it was shallow,
they could clean their catch.

The stingray started to catch
on and would aggregate there

to feed on the discarded
fish parts that were thrown

over the side,
and then people decided

that the rays were friendly
and close enough

that they could feed them,
and it took off as a phenomenon.

>> NARRATOR: Normally, wild
stingrays are solitary animals

that are very skittish of people

and can rarely be
approached closely.

During the daytime they are
often found buried in the sand

hiding from predators
such as sharks.

But at the Stingray Sand Bar,
also sometimes referred to

as Stingray City after
a nearby site where scuba divers

can interact with the animals,
the fish actively engage

with visitors, making the area
one of the most popular

tourist attractions
on Grand Cayman.

>> This is one of our main
business right here

on this island,
especially for tourism.

A lot of the locals,
the local guys does it

and when it's busy,
the companies make money.

Long as my customers
are happy, I'm happy.

♪ ♪

>> NARRATOR: Renowned marine
life artist and scientist

Guy Harvey moved
to Grand Cayman in 1999.

>> I was interested
in the turnover of animals,

the site fidelity,
the sex ratio,

what they do at nighttime,

all these questions
no one could answer.

Nobody had any clue
how many animals were there.

>> It's really important
to do this kind of research

on the sand bar
because human interaction

has changed the dynamics
of the stingray so drastically.

♪ ♪

>> NARRATOR: In 2002,

Guy began a research project
in collaboration

with the Cayman Islands
Department of Environment

to learn more
about the iconic rays.

>> We started a two-year
population study

using two research students,
along with a supervisor

from the Guy Harvey
Research Institute

based at Nova Southeastern
University in Fort Lauderdale,

and during that time they tagged
180 animals from the sandbar

and 20 others from around
the island as control animals.

So that was our benchmark.

And the important thing was
to get every animal tagged

with a non-invasive pit tag.

>> NARRATOR: These pit tags are
similar to a pet's micro-chip

and they allow the experts
to identify individual animals

when they are re-captured.

>> 18261.

>> We found that we had 100
percent retention of these tags.

Many of the large animals that
are there at the sandbar today

were tagged back in 2002,

so that gives us
a fantastic chronology

of their life history.

>> NARRATOR: During the first
two years of the study,

researchers monitored
the animals monthly

to gather detailed information.

>> We also did some sonic
tracking at nighttime

to determine where they went
because we realized

that their behavior
had changed completely.

They are typically nocturnal
predators and will lay low

in the daytime, but now they
are feeding in the daytime

and laying low at night,
especially the large females.

And they would go and sit

within a quarter of a mile
of the sandbar.

The males, we found
on the other hand,

because they were out-competed
because they are smaller,

would forage at night

and actually cover two
or three miles in a night

before coming back
to the sandbar.

We found that the two sexes had
completely different behavior.

>> NARRATOR:
In southern stingrays,

as in many other fishes,

the females are larger
than the males.

>> Having larger females gives
you a reproductive advantage

over everybody else
because the bigger you are

the more pups you can have.

>> NARRATOR: Guy and his
research team continue

the summer counts
of the animals over the years.

>> The research is critical,
there's obviously an ongoing

need to monitor these
populations.

>> NARRATOR: When there was
a sudden decline in the number

of stingrays at the site,

the researchers and tour
operators became concerned.

>> We first realized the decline
in population late in 2010

through casual observation
alone.

And by 2011 we got concerned;

and 2012 we took
our first January census

in response
to everybody's request.

>> And found that compared to
our 2002, 2003 and 2008 numbers,

they had dropped significantly,
from over 100 to 61

in January 2012 and 57
in July 2012.

Very drastic decrease,

but we had no idea why
that would be the case.

Could it be sharks that were
taking them more often now?

Was it something to do
with their health?

Has the diet we were giving them
taken a toll finally?

Any kind of stress or disease?

>> NARRATOR: To find answers
to these questions,

experts from the Georgia
Aquarium in Atlanta

joined the research team from
the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation

and the Department
of Environment in 2012.

They are conducting health
assessments on the stingrays

to understand what may have led
to the decline in numbers

and what impact
the human interaction

is having on the animals.

♪ ♪

>> Well, I'm the
stingray catcher.

So, my job is to
continually bring rays

so that we keep the production
line going as quickly

and efficiently as possible,

and that took many years
of practice.

I've had various help from
tour boat operators to friends

who were very skilled
in the art of catching a ray.

Young ones are sometimes
extremely difficult to catch

because they are flighty,

they escape easily
from your hand,

and you don't want
to end up putting

too much pressure on them.

The larger ones are easier
to catch, but harder to hold,

because they're basically
like a massive pizza,

and they're very powerful
animals so one flap

and they could be out
of your hands.

>> NARRATOR: Once securely
on board the boat,

the venomous barb on the
stingray's tail is covered

as a safety precaution.

>> The barb, of course,
is a very important

defensive mechanism
for these animals

and you have to respect that.

>> Next, the animals
are scanned

to see if they have
been tagged in the past.

>> 553.

>> NARRATOR: After
the animal is identified,

basic measurements are taken
to look at their growth.

Then a vet takes blood samples
from the vein that runs

along the bottom of the tail.

>> We look at many things
such as complete blood counts,

looking at the red cells,

looking at the white
blood cell counts.

We look at their proteins,

then we'll look
at a general chemistry.

We look at their
stress hormones,

and then we're also looking
at vitamins, minerals,

other nutrients, fatty acids.

So it's very similar to whether
we took our dog or our cat

to the doctor's office,
had a blood sample taken,

and doing a complete
health panel.

The animals that
are on the sandbar

definitely appear
relatively healthy.

When we look at their blood
parameters and compare that

to the very little bit
of data that is out there

on free-ranging
southern rays

from along the Atlantic coast,

and then we look at that in
comparison to aquarium animals,

they are very comparable
with most things.

In general, we feel like those
animals are doing fairly well.

>> NARRATOR: Experts also
take a small tissue sample

from one of the fins.

>> We take it from
the same place every time

and that helps us identify
that particular animal

in terms of whether she
has actually been looked at

on this particular assessment.

>> NARRATOR: The tissue
will eventually grow back.

Both tissue and blood samples
are also used to study

the nutritional health
of the stingrays.

>> In the wild these animals
would be solitary,

and they are bottom feeders.

They'd be eating things like
clams, bivalves, crustaceans.

They may come across
dead carcasses.

So they would have
a varied diet in the wild.

Here at the site,
they're actually being hand fed

a non-native food item, squid.

And squid is fairly
nutritionally poor

to begin with.

So, that could be related
to why we're seeing

some of the population level
changes here at the sandbar.

Also, a free ranging stingray
can travel

miles and miles a day
to actually find food.

These animals are relatively
stationary because they know

they will get access to food
relatively easily day after day.

We're looking at vitamins and
trace minerals in their blood,

and that's sort
of a gross indicator

of their nutritional status.

And then we're looking
at more fine-scale markers.

We're looking at fatty acids,
and we're also looking

at stable isotopes.

Both of those markers
are based on the fact

that you are what you eat.

We can actually look at those
markers to track over time

what these animals
have been eating.

Some of the preliminary data
that we're seeing

is that the fatty acid profile
of these animals

is very similar to squid,
which makes sense

because that is what they
are primarily being fed,

and that's telling us that
their dietary history

is not ideal for them and could,
potentially down the road,

present some problems
for these animals.

All the animals here
are getting enough food,

but are they getting
the right kinds of food?

So if we liken it from a human
perspective, we could ask,

"Are these guys couch potatoes?

Are they eating
too many potato chips?"

>> NARRATOR: Evidence shows
the stingrays at the sandbar

do forage for food in addition
to being fed by people,

but just how much might
differ between the sexes.

To get a more
fine-scaled picture

of these dietary differences,

Lisa examined ten males
and ten females

on a quarterly basis in 2014.

>> The females are
a little bit pushier animals,

so the males tend to be
on the fringes.

Based on some of the tracking
data that has been done

by our colleagues, we know
the females tend to stay put.

The males tend to range
a little bit more.

So, I suspect the reason
they're ranging

is because they might
be feeding on other things,

because they cannot get access
due to the competition

by the females out
at the sandbar.

So, if that is true,
we should be able to see that

in the stable isotope
and in the fatty acid data.

>> NARRATOR: The scientists
also hope that 2014's

quarterly survey will give them
a better understanding

of the animals'
reproductive cycle.

>> This of course
has particular relevance

to the sustainability
of the whole experience.

>> NARRATOR: Dr. Alexa McDermott
conducts an ultrasound

on each female
that comes onboard.

Unlike most fish, stingrays
give birth to live pups.

>> First I look at the uterus,
usually because it's the easiest

most prominent thing to find,

especially if the animal
is pregnant,

and with the ultrasound
you can see the uterine wall

and you can see little
finger-like projections

inside the uterus on some of the
animals if they're pregnant,

and those secrete nutrients
for the developing pups.

So, this is an image
of a pup inside the uterus.

So, the uterus will be here
and then the pup is here.

This is the body of the pup
and here's the wing and a wing.

So it's as if the pup is
swimming at you on the screen,

and you can even
see the individual

little cartilage rays
in the wings.

And then I also look
at the ovaries,

so I look to see
how many they have,

if they're all the same color,
if they're all the same size,

if there are cysts present
or not present.

And so, I'm looking to see
if that changes with pregnancy,

seeing if that changes
over time for individuals,

and just kind of documenting it

because it hasn't really been
done before in this species.

>> NARRATOR: At each of the
quarterly health assessments

in 2014, a little more than
one-third of the females

were pregnant, leading
the scientists to believe

that there is no specific
breeding season

for this population
of stingrays.

As the sandbar grew in
popularity over the years,

the increasing number
of tourists at the site

became a source of concern.

>> The animals, on a heavy
cruise ship day, are harassed,

you can see that they are
uncomfortable because they fly

around the place,
they're moving very quickly

and they're not stopping.

>> NARRATOR: In 2007 rules were
introduced to better regulate

the interactions
between rays and people.

>> There's three
types of limits:

A, a limit to the count of
people you can have on the boat,

and that's restricted
to 100 people.

Then there's a limit
to the amount of boats

that can be in there
at any one time.

So, the limit is 20 commercial
boats for an hour or so,

and obviously if you got 20
boats with 100 people on that,

that gives the theoretical
limit of 2,000 people,

but there's an actual
person limit

of 1,500 commercial passengers.

So, that just accounts for the
fact that most of the boats

can't carry 100 people.

>> NARRATOR: The sandbar
became what is known

as a wildlife interaction zone,

or W.I.Z., and stingrays were
protected inside this area.

>> You are allowed to hold them,
you're allowed to feed them,

but you are not allowed
to lift them out of the water.

There was also an issue with
what people were feeding them.

So we introduced conditions
that restricted the feeding

to ballyhoo and squid.

>> And you're not allowed
to wear shoes in the water,

you're not allowed to fish
or take any wildlife

out of the W.I.Z. zone,

you aren't allowed to harm
the rays in any way.

>> It's a very difficult job
to balance the private interest

versus the commercial
versus the tourism product,

and above all that
the environmental concerns.

So yeah, we worked for close
to five years consulting

with the stake holders.

I think it
is the best compromise

that could be expected
under the situation.

I do think that
it does work well.

There are definitely still days
when the timing is off

and you get the full quota,
the 20 boats with a lot

of people and the sense then
is it's very, very crowded

and I don't think
people enjoy that.

But on a typical day
with one to two ships,

it's not so stressful
at the sandbar.

Yeah, there are things
we would like to change,

but respecting all of the
stakeholders and the compromise

that we are at, I think, yeah,
the balance is pretty good.

>> NARRATOR: While the rays
now had protection

inside the wildlife
interaction zone,

no laws prohibited
the taking of rays

elsewhere around the island.

>> The W.I.Z. zone
isn't large enough

for the typical ray territory
of a stingray.

So, once a stingray traveled
outside the W.I.Z. zone,

it was theoretically possible
that you can capture that ray

and there was no law saying
what you did with it--

you could eat the ray,
you could put it in a tank--

which is actually what happened.

We had a local establishment
that had about ten rays

that had put them in a tank
and had them on display

with other creatures
that it had there.

>> They said they came from
fishermen, they were caught

by hook and line and
would have died anyway.

>> But one thing that was very
noticeable about the rays

that were in the tank is that
they were not freaked out

by humans and that
you could hand feed them,

which everybody immediately
assumed these rays had come

from the sand bar.

So there was a hue and cry
about the fact that people

were taking rays
from the sand bar.

So, we investigated the
situation and found

that out of the ten rays
that they had,

a couple of them had been tagged
from our research efforts.

And from our research,
we know that stingrays

around the sandbar show a strong
site fidelity to the area.

And so the likelihood
that they would have come

from Stingray City
was quite high,

but you can't prove that because
some will forage elsewhere

if they haven't been fed
enough for the day,

and they're not protected
outside the W.I.Z. zone.

>> And that actually heightened
the awareness of, wow,

we think the numbers
of the animals on the sandbar

have been declining
and might this be another reason

why they're declining.

Are people actually
fishing for them,

are they being taken
to other locations?

I think that was definitely
an eye-opener, if you will,

for the Department
of Environment,

for the ecotourism
industry down here

that more protection was needed.

>> In the press it became
quite a heated item

because the owner and operator
of the Dolphin Discovery

didn't want to let go
of the animals.

And the D.O.E. made them
put back the tagged ones

but they held onto the six
untagged ones.

And we were pushing
to get them protected

because theoretically anyone
can take a stingray

and fling it on their barbeque,
because people do eat them,

or put them in their own pool,
or put them in their bathtub

and do whatever they want

and there was nothing
to protect the stingray

and why would you
want this to happen

if these animals
are worth so much money?

So, I took a back of an envelope
calculation and said,

you know 60 rays, at the time
there were only 60 rays,

500,000 people paying
$40 a head,

each animal generates
half a million dollars a year.

They're long-lived,
slow-growing animals,

so in 20 years an animal
theoretically can generate

$10 million for this country.

Why wouldn't you protect them?

Until we put it into dollars and
cents, finally the penny dropped

for the politicians and
something got done about it.

And the next Minister of
Environment, he gets it, said,

"You put those stingrays back
in the ocean where they belong."

And there was
a big palaver about that

and they got released,
and I'm glad to say

many of those same animals
are still at the sandbar

so they've become acclimatized
to their new location

and are doing fine.

>> NARRATOR: In May 2013,
a law was put in place

that protected
southern stingrays

and two other species
in the Cayman Islands.

>> You could no longer
have a ray in captivity,

you could no longer
take one from the wild,

so that was the reason that
that was introduced.

Again, not really
to protect rays

because they were threatened
as a species,

but the sandbar rays were
threatened by entrepreneurs

that wanted to kind
of exploit the fact

that these rays were already
conditioned to being hand fed.

So, the majority of the rays
in captivity were male,

and subsequently there
was a very big fall off

in the number of males
at the sandbar,

and this was actually
quite a serious issue

because there was already
a very large imbalance

between male and female.

>> There are currently seven
females to one male,

and so removing animals,
especially males,

from the population could
have a drastic effect.

>> NARRATOR: But since the
return of the captive animals

to the sandbar the population
has rebounded.

>> The population has definitely
rebounded for reasons

we still don't fully understand
and this is why the blood work

coming in from the Georgia
Aquarium folks is so valuable.

You can get a better handle
on their reproductive rate,

on their body analysis
and all that.

>> We are not seeing
the numbers necessarily

that we would have seen in 2008,

but they have certainly
increased from 2012,

which is very positive.

>> NARRATOR: But despite
the rules and new protections,

some in the community still feel

there are too many boats
at the site.

>> You cannot give the people
what they are paying for

when there's 800
or 1,000 people out here.

I want them to have
good memories

of what this is all about,

it's not just
to enjoy themselves,

but to be educational and
respect the environment.

I'm very emotional
when I see a stingray get hurt,

I literally want to cry because
they're a part of my life.

This is a big earner for Cayman

and this is one
of our national gifts

and we should respect it
and not abuse it.

Put less boats out here.

Lot of the boats,
I feel, is overloaded.

>> On the major cruise ship days

you can get up to five
or six ships in dock,

so it does become
very busy indeed.

>> Those animals
may see 5,000 people

in a day during the busy season.

That's an awful lot
of human interaction.

>> My recommendation
is that there be no more

than 300 or 400 people
on the sandbar

at any given time
and how you control that

from a government
perspective is up to them.

It's our job is to provide
the data, the science,

on what is happening out there

and give it to the policy makers
to make a decision.

>> It can be a difficult
balance to strike,

but I think we should
nonetheless make every effort

to get the balance right.

It has high economic
value for us.

But if we aren't good stewards,
and if the welfare of the rays

are not our primary focus
and somehow we do something

to lose that,
then we have lost the battle

and we have lost everything.

So, we need to really err
on the side of caution

and try to make sure from
a conservation perspective

that we get things right.

Major funding for this program

was provided by
the Batchelor Foundation,

encouraging people
to preserve and protect

America's underwater resources.

And by Divers Direct
Emocean Club,

inspiring the pursuit

of tropical adventures
and scuba diving.

And by the Do Unto Others Trust.