Gruesome photos showing the mutilated carcasses of rotting stingrays in a bay of Sydney Harbour have angered local divers and environmentalists. 

The underwater pictures from Chowder Bay – location of the popular Clifton Gardens swimming spot on the north shore – show the remains of two rays that were apparently caught, had their edible fins hacked off and were thrown back in the water to slowly die.

Local diver and photographer Jayne Jenkins posted the images on social media on August 14, claiming both rays were at least 20 years old and were carelessly discarded after having their ‘wings’ chopped off. 

‘Not much to say today apart from one of the saddest dives at Chowder Bay…’ she posted. 

Since then an image of a dead eagle ray with fishing hooks stuck through its flesh in the bay has also appeared online. 

‘Sadly it is legal but too many rays are being killed at Chowder Bay,’ Ms Jenkins told Mosman Collective.

Local divers also reported finding chicken bones beneath the Chowder Bay jetty suggesting they were used as bait.

The discovery of the dead rays has led to calls for a ban on fishing and the establishment of an aquatic reserve in the area. 

‘Fishing at Chowder (Bay) should’ve been banned years ago,’ one person posted underneath the pictures of the dead rays.

Many others commented that the sight of the dead rays was ‘sad’, ‘heartbreaking’ and ‘cruel’. 

Ms Jenkins told the Mosman Daily the rays were ‘friendly’ and an attraction for divers. 

‘I’ve been diving at the bay for 30 years and it seems like all we’re ever doing is cleaning up fishing lines and hooks and even whole fishing rods. 

‘In the peak season, you can get up to 100 fishermen on the pier and they’re all allowed three rods each.

‘We think that, at the very least, fishing should be done in an ethical and responsible manner.’

Recreational Fishing Alliance NSW president Stan Konstantaras described calls to ban fishing in the area as ‘the dumbest idea on earth’.

‘We’re allowed to catch stingrays, and so why on Earth would we want to give up a spot like that for fishing based on a couple of stingrays?’ he told the publication.

‘It’s just an attempt by environmentalists to ban fishing.’

NSW Agriculture Minister Tara Moriarty said the government had no plans to ban fishing at Chowder Bay. 

‘To make an arbitrary decision to simply close it because of these circumstances, as tragic as they are, is not something that the government is looking to do,’ she said.

An investigation by fisheries officers from the Department of Primary Industries had been unable to establish the identity of the anglers responsible for the acts, but in a statement said it would continue to regularly patrol the area in an attempt to deter illegal activity.

The controversy came after a fisherman was fined just $500 for spearing to death a protected blue groper at Oak Park rock pool in Cronulla in January this year.

The fish, affectionately known as ‘Gus’, had lived in the area for decades and was well known to divers and swimmers, and its death sparked fury in the local community.