Manta enthusiasts in Hawaii are urgently calling for help to protect mantas from looming threats. These threats include buyers interested in obtaining manta parts for Chinese traditional medicine, buyers for large commercial aquariums that want to display mantas, and senseless killings of rays.

To protect these gentle giants, manta enthusiasts have introduced HB366 in the Hawaii House of Representatives. The bill must survive numerous committee hearings and cross over to the Senate before a law can be passed. Only 1 out of 10 bills makes it to a general vote, so massive public support is needed all along the way to see that the bills are passed out of all the committee hearings. The perilous position of Hawaii's mantas was underscored when testimony opposing the manta protection bill was received from several persons associated with the commercial aquarium industry.

What can we do?

Submit testimoney in support of the bills. Send testimony to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and MPRF will ensure your testimony is submitted at each committee hearing. You can also submit testimony directly when the bill is scheduled to be heard by visiting www.capitol.hawaii.gov, entering the bill number to find its current status, and following the links to submit testimony. If you submit directly, please be aware that you must re-submit your testimony for each committee hearing.

You can also sign a petition showing your support for the protection of manta rays at www.mantapacific.org

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