Public records reveal thousands of sharks and rays are being legally taken from the wild into captivity under the Florida Wildlife Commission (FWC) ‘Special Activity License’, including many with conservation protections under Florida law, the ESA, or CITES.
The FWC legally permitted 15549 aquatic wildlife in Florida to be caught and sold to many different aquariums, theme parks and more, between 2015 and 2025. This is what we must end. FWC is treating our wildlife like sellable inventory for way too long. This was done behind the scenes and was uncovered through a records request, after a Manta Ray was actually filmed being captured that went viral. Our team has partnered with other conservationists to fight this, to put an end to all this.
