{"id":639,"date":"2026-05-14T17:34:43","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T17:34:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=639"},"modified":"2026-05-14T17:34:43","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T17:34:43","slug":"florida-to-end-international-export-of-manta-rays-for-aquariums","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=639","title":{"rendered":"Florida to end international export of manta rays for aquariums"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Florida\u2019s wildlife commission is ending a controversial policy that allowed the capture of wild manta rays \u2014 a federally threatened species \u2014 for overseas aquariums.<\/p>\n

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But the commission will still allow\u00a0U.S.\u00a0companies to seek approval from Florida\u2019s wildlife officials if they want endangered marine wildlife for their displays.<\/p>\n

The new rules, adopted at a commission meeting Wednesday, effectively end an open permitting program for the capture of certain federally threatened Florida wildlife for educational purposes. Now, if a company seeks an animal on the endangered species list for their exhibitions, like a manta or queen conchs, it will require approval from wildlife commissioners instead of staff issuing permits.<\/p>\n

The reforms come after\u00a0a viral video last summer\u00a0showed men hauling a netted manta ray onto their boat off\u00a0Panama City. Florida\u2019s wildlife agency eventually confirmed it had approved the capture for a\u00a0SeaWorld\u00a0in\u00a0Abu Dhabi.<\/p>\n

The footage and resulting backlash shed light on the state\u2019s little-known marine permitting program and spurred calls for change from a bipartisan coalition of Florida lawmakers. As the Orlando Sentinel reported last year,\u00a0 Florida is the only U.S. state that allows the harvest of giant manta rays.<\/p>\n

Most of the 25 state permits \u2014 nearly 3 out of 4 \u2014 issued since 2019 that granted manta ray captures were for overseas aquariums, according to an analysis of public records obtained by the nonprofit Animal Legal Defense Fund.<\/p>\n

More than half were for aquariums in either\u00a0China\u00a0or the\u00a0United Arab Emirates, the records show.<\/p>\n

During the meeting Wednesday, the governor-appointed wildlife commissioners took issue with exporting Florida-caught manta rays to aquariums abroad.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cI do believe that we should not export the manta rays internationally or to other countries. I believe that they should be here, in America,\u201d wildlife commission chairperson\u00a0Rodney Barreto\u00a0said. He thanked both \u201cthe internet\u201d for raising issues with the state program and lawmakers who asked for reforms.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for\u00a0SeaWorld\u00a0did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n

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Wildlife staff on Wednesday said that without any future international exports, there\u2019s just one domestic company that meets the requirements to house a manta ray in captivity throughout its lifespan: the\u00a0Georgia Aquarium, whose Ocean Voyager tank holds 6.3 million gallons of water or nearly 10 Olympic sized pools.<\/p>\n

If a manta ray died in its tank, and the aquarium wanted a new one, \u201cwe have the ability to help them get one. We should leave that ability open. I think that ability should come to the commission, though, and not just somebody getting a permit,\u201d Barreto said.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

State Rep.\u00a0Lindsay Cross, a\u00a0St. Petersburg\u00a0Democrat, has been calling for a total ban on manta ray captures alongside federal and other state lawmakers. She also introduced a bill during this year\u2019s legislative session that would have reformed the\u00a0Special Activity Licenses\u00a0program.<\/p>\n

While her bill never gained traction, Cross said Wednesday that the reforms were commonsense steps toward protecting Florida\u2019s marine wildlife. Requiring commissioners\u2019 approval will also improve public transparency, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was clear from all of the Commissioners that sending Florida\u2019s marine wildlife out of the country for private profit is incredibly unpopular,\u201d Cross wrote in a text message to the\u00a0Times.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s also clear that advocacy and public pressure works,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n

Some environmental advocates who had called for a total ban of wild manta ray captures for aquariums, domestically or abroad, said the decision Wednesday was still a welcome change.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile Defenders of Wildlife continues to believe these vulnerable marine species should not be captured from the wild for exhibition, today\u2019s decision represents meaningful progress,\u201d said\u00a0Katherine Sayler, the southeast representative for the nonprofit\u00a0Defenders of Wildlife.<\/p>\n

Sayler continued: \u201cRequiring public review and Commission approval introduces greater transparency, accountability and oversight into a process that has lacked sufficient safeguards.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Orlando Fringe Festival reviews: AI, first lady, gay romance and sexy death<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Florida\u2019s wildlife commission voted Wednesday to end international export of manta rays for aquariums, though it will allow U.S. companies to seek permits to display the animals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":638,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-639","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-environment","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nFlorida to end international export of manta rays for aquariums - Orlando Relocation Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=639\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Florida to end international export of manta rays for aquariums - 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