Are Manta Rays hunted anywhere in the world?
In the 1990’s, targeted harpoon fisheries in the Philippines and off the Pacific coast of Mexico decimated resident populations. Due to the scarcity of catches, Mantas are rarely targeted in these locations today. Mantas are sometimes ensnared in drift or set nets, particularly in tropical parts of the western Pacific and Indian oceans. These catches are rarely reported, so it is difficult to assess the threat posed to manta populations by these “incidental” captures.
