Following public outcry over a viral video, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has finalized a rule guaranteeing that future manhandling of the species will serve commercial entertainment purposes.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Following months of public outcry over a viral video of a giant manta ray being dragged onto an unmarked vessel, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has finalized a rule guaranteeing that all future manhandling of the threatened species will be conducted for responsible commercial exhibition.
Members of the FWC voted unanimously Wednesday to adopt an amended regulatory framework for the oceanic giants. Rather than implementing a full capture ban as requested by a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers, the commission opted to tighten its permitting process, ensuring that any manta ray forcibly removed from its natural habitat is hauled aboard a properly documented boat.
The recent viral footage was deeply upsetting because the individuals involved lacked the proper site permits to legally induce that level of distress.
The regulatory review was triggered last year when footage circulated of a ray flailing on the deck of an unlicensed recreational boat. Under the newly finalized FWC rules, identical footage would require the vessel to visibly display appropriate commercial exhibition licensing and file a species-removal assessment within thirty days.
Under the updated guidelines, "responsible exhibition" is defined as any commercial display facility capable of maintaining the requisite salinity levels in a concrete cylinder. The commission noted in its filing that while removing a 3,000-pound pelagic filter feeder from the water column inherently causes extreme physiological stress, doing so for a facility that charges admission aligns with the state's broader environmental mandates.
Giant manta rays, listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act, currently face overlapping pressures from warming coastal waters, ocean acidification, and targeted capture. The FWC is scheduled to review the efficacy of the new responsible exhibition clause during the state's next quarterly biodiversity census in late 2026.