{"id":36816,"date":"2025-07-25T17:26:09","date_gmt":"2025-07-25T17:26:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/36816\/"},"modified":"2025-07-25T17:26:09","modified_gmt":"2025-07-25T17:26:09","slug":"florida-allowed-capture-of-threatened-giant-manta-ray","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/36816\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida allowed capture of threatened giant manta ray"},"content":{"rendered":"

Denis Richard watched five men heave a giant manta ray from the waters off Panama City Beach and plop it into a pool on their boat deck.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet him go,\u201d he yelled. \u201cYou ought to be ashamed of yourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Richard, a dolphin tour boat operator, was outraged that a threatened species often called the \u201cangel of the sea\u201d could be plucked from Florida\u2019s waters. But the capture was legal: State wildlife officials issued a special permit allowing a giant manta ray to be taken for SeaWorld Abu Dhabi, which bills itself as the world\u2019s largest indoor marine life theme park.<\/p>\n

The park in the Middle East\u00a0 \u2014 about 7,800 miles away from the manta ray\u2019s Florida home \u2014 contracted with a Florida Keys aquarium supplier to capture the creature, according to records obtained by the Orlando Sentinel. The fate of the manta ray could not be determined as neither SeaWorld Abu Dhabi nor the supplier responded to requests for information.<\/p>\n

Video footage of the animal\u2019s July 12 capture, posted online, has reignited debate over whether these intelligent, migratory creatures belong in captivity. Just a handful of aquariums in the world display manta rays, and Florida is the only U.S. state that allows their harvest, according to a 2024 federal report.<\/p>\n

Richard, founder and CEO of the Water Planet USA dolphin tour company, said he witnessed the capture while leading a tour, and one of his crew members filmed it.<\/p>\n

He initially thought the men had caught a shark until he saw the winged body struggling in the net. His concern grew when he later learned the manta ray appeared destined for the aquarium in the Middle East.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe risks of that manta ray being traumatized and possibly dying in that process are very high because they are a very sensitive species,\u201d Richard said.<\/p>\n

Known for impressing divers with its graceful movements, the giant manta ray is classified as a threatened species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. With a wingspan up to 26 feet, it can grow to 5,300 pounds, about as much as a car.<\/p>\n

\"AA juvenile manta ray approaches an underwater camera. Florida is home to a rare manta ray nursery habitat and a large seasonal aggregation of adult manta rays, according to the Florida Manta Project. (Bryant Turffs\/The Florida Manta Project)<\/p>\n

Florida generally prohibits catching manta rays. But the state can authorize a special license to capture them for educational, exhibition and research purposes with the objective of increasing \u201cthe public\u2019s knowledge and awareness of Florida\u2019s marine resources.\u201d<\/p>\n

The July 12 capture was authorized under such a license issued by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The agency permitted the collection of one giant manta ray from state waters for exhibition purposes, according to the company\u2019s license, which was valid for a year starting Nov. 1.<\/p>\n

Over the past two years, state wildlife officials have issued four such licenses to various entities, agency spokeswoman Shannon Knowles said in a statement. One manta ray died shortly after being taken into captivity, she said.<\/p>\n

Florida is the only state that authorizes giant manta ray harvest for aquarium and exhibition purposes, according to a 2024 report<\/a> from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration\u2019s fisheries division. From 2019 to 2022, Florida issued 17 exhibition licenses to aquariums in China, France, the United Arab Emirates and Maryland, the report found.<\/p>\n

Those aquariums weren\u2019t successful in capturing a manta ray during that timeframe, but the number of licenses suggests increasing interest around the world, according to the report.<\/p>\n

Richard uploaded video footage of the encounter to social media, garnering more than one million views and stoking outrage. South Florida\u2019s WPLG Local 10 news reported on the viral video<\/a>, generating more attention.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow is this allowed? These animals aren\u2019t meant for tanks,\u201d one commenter wrote. \u201cThey belong in the ocean. Absolutely unacceptable!\u201d<\/p>\n

Others defended the capture, saying aquariums connect the public with the oceans and raise money for conservation and research. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s unclear what SeaWorld Abu Dhabi\u2019s plans are for the manta ray. Company officials did not respond to multiple requests for comment. SeaWorld Abu Dhabi opened in May 2023 in the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. Manta rays are among the marine life that can be viewed at the aquarium, according to promotional materials advertising the park on Experience Abu Dhabi.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

\"World'sVisitors take in SeaWorld Abu Dhabi, billed as the world’s largest aquarium. (Drahoslav Ramik\/CTK via AP Images)<\/p>\n

Records show SeaWorld Abu Dhabi contracted with Dynasty Marine Associates, a company based in Marathon in the Florida Keys, to capture the manta ray. In a 2012 article<\/a>, Coral magazine described Dynasty Marine as \u201cthe preeminent purveyor of large and rare saltwater specimens\u201d for public aquariums around the globe.<\/p>\n

Dynasty Marine is likely the nation\u2019s sole exporter of manta rays with three specimens exported in the past six to eight years, the company\u2019s president, Christopher Ben Daughtry, wrote to federal regulators<\/a> in January. His letter urged regulators to support the export of manta rays for display in aquariums.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur specimens are viewed by millions of visitors each year and are ambassadors for their species, teaching the public the value of conserving the oceans and the wild populations of this charismatic megafauna,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n

Transporting a manta ray is extremely complex, costing tens of thousands of dollars and requiring the use of oxygenated tanks, he added. The company devotes the \u201cutmost care and attention\u201d to protecting the health and welfare of specimens, Daughtry said.<\/p>\n

Only about six aquariums worldwide are known to keep manta rays, according to a federal report. The Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta is the only one in the United States.<\/p>\n

Keeping giant manta rays in aquariums is challenging. Giant manta rays must constantly swim and cover significant distances during seasonal migrations. As filter feeders, they consume plankton and other small organisms extracted from the water. They are slow-growing, giving birth to only one pup every two to three years. Gestation is thought to last around a year. They have been reported to live at least 45 years.<\/p>\n

\"AA juvenile manta ray is captured from above off the coast of Southeast Florida. The giant manta ray was added to the Endangered Species Act in 2018 as a threatened species. (Jessica Pate\/The Florida Manta Project)<\/p>\n

Jessica Pate, founder of the Florida Manta Project, said she agrees aquariums can be powerful educational tools, but she doesn\u2019t support taking manta rays from the wild.<\/p>\n

\u201cManta rays are capable of migrating hundreds of miles and have the biggest brain of any fish, likely indicating their intelligence,\u201d said Pate, lead scientist and project manager at the Marine Megafauna Foundation.<\/p>\n

A 2016 study<\/a> found that a manta ray was capable of recognizing itself in the mirror. Only a small number of species, mostly primates, have passed the so-called mirror test, a behavior associated with self-awareness.<\/p>\n

Threatened species don\u2019t automatically receive the same level of protection under federal law as endangered species, which are considered to be at a higher risk of extinction.<\/p>\n

As a result, there are no \u201ctake\u201d prohibitions for the threatened giant manta ray, and extended protections have not been issued, said James Miller, a spokesman for NOAA Fisheries.<\/p>\n

\"PeoplePeople enjoy riding on a roller coaster at the SeaWorld on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on May 26, 2023. (AP Photo\/Nick ElHajj)<\/p>\n

Manta rays face a variety of threats, including entanglement in fishing gear, vessel strikes and pollution. There is also a demand for their gill plates, which are touted in Asian markets as having medicinal benefits.<\/p>\n

On its website, SeaWorld Abu Dhabi promises that it is \u201ccommitted to providing the highest standard of animal welfare\u201d and is dedicated to marine research, conservation and education.<\/p>\n

But Richard said he thinks there are alternatives that could instill an appreciation of manta rays without taking them from the wild. One idea, he said, is to showcase the manta ray\u2019s majesty through virtual reality.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe purpose of that capture is to make money for display,\u201d Richard said. \u201cThat animal is going to spend the rest of her life in captivity swimming in a circle.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Denis Richard watched five men heave a giant manta ray from the waters off Panama City Beach and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":36817,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[192,2808,2558,983,3,79,201],"class_list":["post-36816","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-environment","tag-florida","tag-latest-headlines","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-science","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36816","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36816"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36816\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36817"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36816"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36816"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36816"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}