Wild Manta Ray Bycatch and Welfare

Manta rays are increasingly threatened by fishing bycatch and targeted hunting for their gill plates used in traditional medicine.

Key Facts

Both manta ray species are classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List
Mantas reproduce extremely slowly with females giving birth to one pup every 2-3 years
Gill plate trade has driven targeted hunting depleting populations across their range
Mantas have the largest brain-to-body ratio of any fish and demonstrate self-recognition in mirrors
They are captured as bycatch in tuna purse seines and gill nets throughout their tropical range
Marine protected areas have helped stabilize manta populations in some regions
Live mantas generate far more ecotourism revenue than harvested gill plates

Welfare Considerations

Manta ray welfare in fishing interactions involves acute physical trauma from net entanglement and the stress of capture. Their large size and powerful swimming means entanglement in nets causes wing and body injuries from struggling. Suffocation in trawl nets causes death from inability to swim and ventilate. Targeted hunting for gill plates involves killing large, long-lived, cognitively complex animals for a product of no proven medicinal value. The intelligence of mantas, suggested by mirror self-recognition and complex social behavior, gives additional weight to welfare concerns beyond their conservation status.

What You Can Do

Support Manta Trust conservation programs documenting and protecting manta populations
Advocate for gill plate trade bans under CITES appendix listings
Choose tuna certified from fisheries with manta bycatch reduction programs
Support marine protected areas encompassing manta cleaning stations and aggregation sites
Oppose traditional medicine products using manta gill plates with no proven efficacy
Donate to demand reduction campaigns in Asian markets targeting manta product consumers