Manta rays face severe threats from targeted fishing and bycatch, with their specialized biology and behavior making them particularly vulnerable to population decline.
Manta rays caught in targeted fisheries or bycatch experience acute suffering from entanglement in nets, where they struggle and drown if unable to breathe through continuous swimming. Gill plate removal from live rays causes hemorrhage and death. The evidence for manta ray cognitive complexity - including apparent self-recognition, social learning, and long-term memory - strengthens the welfare case for their protection. The fishing-to-ecotourism economic comparison overwhelmingly favors protection of live mantas for sustained tourism revenue. Conservation of manta populations also protects the ecological function they serve in marine ecosystems. International protective regulations have been established but enforcement in key fishing nations remains inadequate.