Oceanic and reef manta rays (Mobula birostris and Mobula alfredi) are among the world's most charismatic marine animals, yet they face severe population declines from targeted fishing for their gill rakers — used in Traditional Chinese Medicine — and incidental bycatch in gillnet fisheries.
Manta rays caught in gillnets experience entanglement stress, physical injury from struggling, and drowning if they cannot surface to breathe — as obligate gill ventilators, they require water flow over their gills to breathe. Targeted fishing for gill rakers involves removal of cephalic fins and gill plates from live or freshly killed animals. Manta rays show complex social behaviour and appear to form long-term associations with specific reefs and feeding grounds — the loss of individuals disrupts social dynamics in small populations. CITES Appendix II listing in 2013 restricts international trade, but domestic fishing pressure continues in some countries.