Handling and releasing manta and devil rays

Devil and manta rays are open water, filter-feeding members of the shark, ray and skate family. These are known as cartilaginous fishes (that have skeletons made from cartilage).

Rays live in tropical and subtropical waters around the world.

They are vulnerable to overfishing as they grow and reproduce very slowly.

Rays can get tangled in fishing gear such as nets and longlines.

They are fragile and susceptible to internal damage when out of the water.

They can also die easily from suffocation if they remain out of the water for too long.

If you catch a ray

Find out what you should and shouldn't do if a ray gets caught up in your fishing gear.

What you should do

Do:

• remove it carefully and release it quickly, without injury
• disentangle rays before they are hauled aboard
• disentangle rays caught in gillnets with care
• bring small rays captured in longlines on board and remove as much gear as possible by backing the hook out
  • if hooks are embedded, cut the hook with bolt cutters or cut the line at the hook and gently return the animal to the sea
• leave bigger rays in the water and use a de-hooker to remove the hook or a long-handled line cutter to cut the gear as close to the hook as possible
  • ideally leaving less than half a metre of line attached to the ray
• avoid areas with known or predicted high densities of rays
• reduce soak times when rays are present and schooling
• plan ahead and have equipment ready
• return rays to the water with a knotless scoop or flat surfaced object such as an ice shovel.

What you shouldn't do

Don't:

• attempt to force the animal through meshes or flip them over the float lines to access the other side of the net
• gaff, drag, carry, lift or pull a ray by its “cephalic lobes/devil horns” or tail
• carry or drag a ray by inserting your hands into the gill slits or the spiracles
• stand on the ray
• hit or slam a ray against any surface to remove the animal from the line - this will cause severe damage and likely death
• attempt to dislodge an imbedded hook by pulling on the branch or line.
• attempt to lift medium to large rays (more than 30 kg) aboard the vessel
• cut the tail.

Bringing a ray on board a vessel

You should avoid bringing a manta or devil ray on board.

However, if you can’t disentangle it from the net or remove hooks while the ray is in the water, carefully bring it on board without causing damage to the body.

Make every attempt to support the ray’s weight by at least 2 points. For example, one point of contact being the midsection, and the other being towards the end of the body.

Ideally, you should get 2 to 3 people carrying the ray by the sides of each wing.

Releasing a ray from the side of a vessel

Make sure the ray is supported and returned slowly to the water. You can help with recovery by allowing water to flow over the gills before release.

If possible, avoid releasing the ray near hauling gear or processing of catch to the reduce recapture.

More information

Read the handling and release manta and devil ray guidelines PDF (1.3 MB).