Florida tightens rules on capturing giant manta rays but stops short of full ban

The commission’s move was “a step forward in protecting Florida’s marine wildlife”, said Lindsay Cross, a Democratic state representative, letter signatory and sponsor of the Marine and Aquatic Native Threatened Animal (Manta) Protection Act in the Florida legislature.

Her bill, which died at committee stage in March, would have introduced an outright ban on the capture of threatened or endangered marine species from Florida waters and eliminated the need for an FWC rule.

“While myself and others were seeking a complete ban on the capture of species like the giant manta ray, the amended rule will ban the international export of any federally threatened or endangered species for the purposes of exhibition or education,” she said.

“Commission approval for any new SAL will improve transparency and allow for public comment and a more iterative process whereby the commission may designate additional parameters.”

Alicia Prygoski, the ALDF’s strategic legislative affairs manager, praised the commission for a “meaningful step”, but expressed concern that it also removed from the final rule a proposed cap of one manta ray every two years.

“Giant manta rays are threatened for a reason, and they deserve that highest level of protection, which would mean, of course, not pulling any of them from the water,” she said.

“But there is still some good that can be taken from this. The commission was strong on the outright prohibition on international export, which was somewhat of a response to stakeholder outreach and that very concerning viral video.

“The removal of the manta ray limit is the piece we still have concerns about. But in practice it doesn’t appear to create an immediate risk because there’s only one aquarium in the country equipped to house them.

“Overall we’re pretty happy to see the general outcome, and the FWC taking this seriously.”

Barreto, in a statement, said the panel was mindful of the concerns of the politicians and animal advocates, but weighed them against a need for education about vulnerable species.

“FWC is committed to the responsible conservation of endangered and threatened species,” he said.

“We recognize the role public aquariums play in building support for conservation. The actions we took will ensure the highest level of oversight for the collection of marine threatened species for responsible exhibition in the US.”

The new rule takes effect on 1 July.