Why is the giant oceanic manta ray endangered?

It reproduces very slowly, with females typically giving birth to just one pup every two to three years after a 12-13 month gestation, while facing heavy fishing pressure for its gill rakers, which are valued in traditional Chinese medicine, along with gillnet entanglement and pollution.

How intelligent is the giant oceanic manta ray?

It has the largest brain of any fish, weighing up to 200 grams—five to ten times larger than a whale shark's—and a 2016 study found it showed behavior in front of a mirror suggestive of possible self-recognition.

Giant Oceanic Manta Rayオニイトマキエイ

Mobula birostrisEN— Endangered

The giant oceanic manta ray is among the largest living rays, with a disc width typically around 4.5 meters and exceptional individuals exceeding 7 meters. Found in tropical, subtropical, and temperate waters worldwide, it filter-feeds on plankton and small fish while swimming with its mouth agape, and it possesses the largest brain of any fish. Slow to reproduce and heavily targeted for its gill rakers, it is classified as Endangered.

Giant Oceanic Manta Ray (reference photo) — Photo: jon hanson from london, UK / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Source / cropped

Species Data

Classification: Myliobatiformes / Mobulidae Source
Size: Disc width usually about 4.5 m, reaching a maximum of about 7–9.1 m
Weight: Up to about 3 tons
Lifespan: Estimated at more than 20 years, with some claims of over 50 or even over 100 years
Diet: Filter feeder Planktivorous; swims with its mouth wide open, taking in plankton with seawater and filtering it out through the gills. A diet including deep-sea fish has also been reported
Distribution: Circumglobal in tropical, subtropical, and temperate waters, ranging as far north as southern California and Japan and as far south as Peru, South Africa, and New Zealand. Source
Sources: ja.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org

Did You Know?

It has the largest brain of any fish, weighing up to about 200 g—five to ten times larger than a whale shark's—and a 2016 study observed behavior in front of a mirror suggestive of possible self-recognition. Source
It is ovoviviparous with a gestation period of about 13 months, typically producing just one or two pups at a time, and females breed only once every two to three years, making population recovery extremely slow. Source

Where to See This Species

Operating facilities registered on this site: Japan 1

Okinawa Churaumi AquariumOkinawaOpened in 2002

Source

Conservation Story

Conservation Status

Endangered (EN)

Sources

ja.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org

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FAQ

Why is the giant oceanic manta ray endangered?: It reproduces very slowly, with females typically giving birth to just one pup every two to three years after a 12-13 month gestation, while facing heavy fishing pressure for its gill rakers, which are valued in traditional Chinese medicine, along with gillnet entanglement and pollution. Source
How intelligent is the giant oceanic manta ray?: It has the largest brain of any fish, weighing up to 200 grams—five to ten times larger than a whale shark's—and a 2016 study found it showed behavior in front of a mirror suggestive of possible self-recognition. Source
How many operating facilities are registered here?: Operating facilities registered on this site: Japan 1 Source

Books & gear

Source: churaumi.okinawa www.iucnredlist.org