Global manta and devil ray population declines: closing policy and management gaps to reduce fisheries mortality

November 2025

Betty Laglbauer, Nidhi G. D’Costa, Joshua D. Stewart, Marta D. Palacios, Melissa Cronin, Daniel Fernando, Nerea Lezama-Ochoa, Asia O. Armstrong, Rima W. Jabado, Sarah Fowler, Julia M. Lawson, Olga Koubrak, Jefferson Murua, Thanda Ko Gyi, Divya Karnad, Mayuri Chopra, Giuseppe Notarbartolo-di-Sciara, Joshua Rambahiniarison, Don Croll, Stefany Rojas, Fahmi, Joanna L. Harris, Alifa Binthe Haque, Hilario Murua, Juan Carlos Pérez-Jiménez, Emily Humble, Ellen Barrowclift, Muhammad G. Salim, Godefroy De Bruyne, Issah Seidu, Luis A. Zambrano-Vizquel, Katrina Davies, Muhammad Moazzam Khan, Nayara Bucair, Jeannie Johnson, Ghofrane Labyedh, Aristide Tatoukam-Kamla, Karen Fuentes, Rebecca Carter, Nuno Barros & Guy M. W. Stevens

Keywords: Mobulid Ray • Catch • Landings • At-vessel Mortality • CITES • Elasmobranch

Summary: Manta and devil rays are at serious risk from overfishing, despite some conservation efforts. Researchers estimate that fisheries kill around 265,000 rays each year, mostly in small-scale fisheries, with the highest risks in India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Peru, and Myanmar. Demand for gill plates and meat drives much of this mortality. To protect these species, experts recommend stronger international and national protections, including listing all manta and devil ray species under CITES Appendix I, enforcing fishing bans in critical habitats, limiting harmful fishing methods, and involving local fishers in management. Urgent action is needed to prevent population declines and ensure their survival.

Abstract

“Significant progress has been made in advancing priority actions to conserve manta and devil rays, yet implementation and enforcement of protective measures often fall short, leaving most mobulid populations at risk of overfishing. Drawing on a literature review, fisheries databases, agency reports, and expert interviews, we assess global trends in mobulid catch and mortality. We examine both targeted and incidental catch, in small (<15 m, ‘SV’) and large (>15 m, ‘LV’) vessel fisheries to identify hotspots with the highest risk of fisheries-related mortality and population decline. We estimate global fisheries catch at 264,520 (184,407–344,987) mobulids per year, with SV fisheries accounting for 87 % of global mortality. The highest-risk hotspots, based on mortality and declines, are located in India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Peru, and Myanmar. Mobulid retention is driven by demand, with higher mortality rates observed in countries exporting gill plates, and to a lesser extent, in those trading meat domestically or internationally. We recommend urgent implementation and enforcement of mobulid listings under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES), the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), and national protective measures, including (i) uplisting mobulids to CITES Appendix I, (ii) full legislative protection for all mobulid species in high-risk fishing nations to reduce demand, (iii) avoiding fishing in critical habitats through permanent or temporary targeted area closures, or management, (iv) limiting drift gillnet effort, and (v) involving fishers in management decisions and implementation.”

full publication

Infographic

Infographic by Jasmine Corbett

Author Affiliations

  • The Manta Trust

  • Ocean Ecology Lab, Marine Mammal Institute, Department of Fisheries, Wildlife & Conservation Sciences, Oregon State University

  • Mobula Conservation

  • Duke University Nicholas School of the Environment

  • School for Marine Science and Technology, University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth

  • Blue Resources Trust

  • Sustainable Fisheries Management Tuna Department, AZTI-Tecnalia

  • Project Manta, University of the Sunshine Coast

  • Elasmo Project

  • James Cook University

  • Save Our Seas Foundation

  • Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, University of California, Santa Barbara

  • SeaLife Law

  • Myanmar Ocean Project

  • Department of Environmental Studies, Ashoka University

  • University of Oxford

  • Tethys Research Institute

  • CORDIO East Africa

  • Institute of Marine Sciences, University of California Santa Cruz

  • National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN)

  • School of Biological and Marine Sciences, University of Plymouth

  • Department of Zoology, University of Dhaka

  • Bengal Elasmo Lab

  • International Seafood Sustainability Foundation

  • El Colegio de la Frontera Sur

  • Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies & the Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh

  • School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University

  • Yayasan Konservasi dan Penelitian Pari Mobula (Mobula Project Indonesia)

  • Wildlife Conservation Society Gabon

  • Department of Wildlife and Range Management, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology

  • Escuela de Ciencias Aplicadas del Mar, Universidad de Oriente

  • WWF-Pakistan

  • University of São Paulo

  • African Marine Conservation Organisation (AMCO)

  • Manta México Caribe AC

Contribution towards the Manta Trust's Strategic Plan

Goal 1: Strategic Objective 1.1: More protective policies exist to support manta and devil ray conservation for geographical focus areas.

Goal 1: Strategic Objective 1.2: There is improved enforcement of existing protective policies.

Goal 2: Strategic Objective 2.2: Regulations and effective enforcement exist to reduce manta and devil ray capture and bycatch mortality in geographical focus areas. 

Goal 3: Strategic Objective 3.1: All manta and devil ray species in the regions where we work are fully protected and conserved through species management plans. 

Goal 3: Strategic Objective 3.5: Impact of boat strikes and entanglement are better understood to inform necessary conservation measures.

Download the manta trust five-year plan