Conference set on problems caused by cow-nosed ray

US - Scientists and watermen will share horror stories about the cow-nosed ray, whose reputation has grown from nuisance to menace as its population apparently swells in the Chesapeake Bay.

"You'd be surprised of the tales you're going to hear," said Bob Fisher, a specialist with the Virginia Sea Grant Program at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science who is organizing the meeting.

The two-day workshop Thursday and Friday in Yorktown is the first conference of its type, pulling representatives from several coastal states where the kite-shaped animals are the scourge of aquaculturists and oyster-restoration efforts.

Source: TimesDespatch