Social media outrage over a viral manta ray collection video from 2025 made it all the way to Tallahassee, as the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission voted on May 13 to revamp the state’s regulations governing the export of threatened and endangered species from state waters.
FWC made changes to the Marine Special Activity License (SAL) program, which allows for the limited collection of high-profile species off-limits to the everyday aquarist or angler for educational or exhibition purposes. The move comes almost a year after videos posted to social media showed the permitted collection of a manta ray by Marathon-based Dynasty Marine Associates in July 2025, intended for export to an Abu Dhabi aquarium.
As currently written, FWC’s Marine Prohibited Species Policy establishes strict guidelines when evaluating requests to collect 23 prohibited species, including 16 that fall under a complete collection ban – whale sharks, Nassau groupers and sawfish, to name a few.
Updates to the policy, unanimously approved in the May 13 meeting, drop the limit for manta ray collections for educational exhibition purposes, previously set to three per year, to one every two years, and banned the export of any endangered or threatened species outside the United States.
Social media cries following the viral video called on state leaders for an outright ban on manta ray captures, while others defended the research opportunities and educational and inspirational value of seeing collected animals in zoological facilities — opportunities that may otherwise never exist.
Following the video, FWC revoked active manta ray permits as the agency continued its revamp to the SAL program, already underway since 2024.
During the 2026 state legislative session, Florida lawmakers introduced a bill dubbed the MANTA Protection Act (House Bill 1171/Senate Bill 988), intended to “(close) a loophole that allows for the legal collection and transport of endangered or threatened marine animal species.” The bill died in March.
But less than two weeks before the May 13 FWC meeting, a letter signed by 18 state and federal lawmakers, spearheaded by state Rep. Lindsay Cross and including Keys state Rep. Jim Mooney, urged FWC chairman Rodney Barreto and commission members to reject any version of the revised SAL program that would allow for future manta ray collections.
“By continuing to permit manta ray capture, the Commission prioritizes the interests of the captive marine animal entertainment industry over the protection of a threatened species,” they wrote. “Florida has long been a leader in marine conservation. Allowing the continued capture of manta rays – animals that are both nationally and globally recognized as threatened – undermines this legacy.”
Addressing the commission, Dynasty president Ben Daughtry called the SAL program a “highly limited and incredibly important public education and research opportunity.”
“(The SAL program) has allowed for common-sense, science-based solutions to rule the day for sustainable fisheries management,” he said. “I believe this organization was built for exactly that, and that’s what (the commission) is here to do today – not bend to political pressures or social media campaigns.
“If we let the outcry of the loudest few dictate the way we manage wildlife in this state, you will see a tidal wave of NGOs and special interest groups that will come in here with their next pet projects, asking and creating political pressure and social media campaigns to change the way you manage wildlife in this state.”
“I do believe that we should not export the manta rays internationally,” said Barreto, adding that the 6.3-million-gallon Ocean Voyager tank at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta serves as the only exhibit large enough to house the massive rays for their entire lifespan. “I believe they should be here in America – leave them alone.”
Agreeing with most of the rule change elements proposed by staff, Barreto and other commissioners added that future applications for collections of threatened or endangered species should be heard and approved by the commission as a whole, rather than approved administratively by staff. They said a U.S.-based facility would be denied a permit to replace an animal if they chose to export those currently in their collection.
In his public comments and a phone call to the Keys Weekly following the meeting, Daughtry clarified his company has collected only juvenile animals, not breeding-age females as some suggested. And while numerous SAL permits were issued to facilities, Daughtry said, his company has collected five individual rays over the last decade – the only company to do so, to his knowledge.
Even before the commission meeting, Daughtry said, export of manta rays overseas was under stricter scrutiny as the species moved from Appendix II (at risk of endangerment) to Appendix I (at risk of extinction) on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) list. However, he pointed to overseas destinations as countries most in need of education to inspire conservation, as some of the exported species are routinely harvested for consumption in other areas of the world.
“One of my best examples is that 25 years ago, if you went to China and you went to a wedding, they were serving shark fin soup, guaranteed,” he said. “With the addition of public aquariums, and a very clear campaign on how shark fin soup is bad, less than 30% of weddings now serve the soup. That’s a very clear active role that public aquariums are playing in the conservation of those animals.
“For me, it was about more than just the manta rays – it was about maintaining the precedent that fisheries management in Florida should never be dictated by social media and emotions.”
Daughtry added he was surprised to see Mooney’s signature on the letter to FWC, as the two had not spoken about the manta ray issue. Daughtry said he’d attempted to contact Mooney by phone before the meeting, but hadn’t heard back.
Speaking to the Weekly on May 19, Mooney confirmed the same, but said the decision was “a no-brainer” for him as he focused on the state budget.
“Did (the collections) make any sense? No, not in today’s world,” he said. “I didn’t know the guys in Marathon were a part of that program, but it didn’t matter, because I’m not in favor of collecting manta rays.
“We all know that a lot of good things come out of capture and studies, if they’re truly used for studies. … But I think FWC made the right decision, and (permit applicants) have to go in front of them. Transparency is everything in today’s world.”
