response: Yes, in that stuff such as getting stuck in fishing nets, getting harvested for their gills and pollution.
original_response: Sadly it is pollution that kills most of them. Also the chinese use them in most medicines. There gills have good properties for healing.
history: Hey there!! How are ya? Neither here nor there. How do you feel about the manta ray, which belong to the "Manta" genus? Are there different kinds of manta rays? Yes, there is a larger species known as "M. birostris" while a smaller one is "M. alfredi". Okay so you know some about them. Great!! Have you ever seen one in the ocean before? I have not but a convention of migratory species of wild animals protects them in international waters, but they're less protected when close to shore. I didn't know that. Are the endangered then? Not sure, but they do have a slow rate of reproduction that makes the threats worse. That's unfortunate. I wonder if over fishing or pollution is the cause of their decline besides low reproductive rates?
knowledge: Anthropogenic threats include pollution, entanglement in fishing nets, and direct harvesting for their gill rakers for use in Chinese medicine.