Giant Endangered Manta Ray Roughly Taken from Florida Waters to Be Put Into Captivity with Official Approval

Florida locals are calling out state authorities after a dolphin tours company saw a crew capturing an endangered giant manta ray earlier this month.

In a now-viral reel first shared to Facebook by Panama City Beach-based Water Planet USA on July 12, staff aboard the touring company’s boat recorded video of five men roughly removing the fish from its natural habitat and placing it in a small pool for transport. 

“Unfortunately, on todays tour- we witnessed a heartbreaking scene,” the video’s caption read.

The clip has since been shared by local outlets, including WPLG and the Orlando Sentinel, with the latter reporting that the giant endangered manta ray will be taken to SeaWorld Abu Dhabi, despite it being a protected species.

Water Planet USA told its followers that they should be “outraged” by what had taken place. 

“This video shows a giant manta ray—perfectly healthy—harvested just off Panama City Beach under a permit held by Sea World. It’s heartbreaking and unacceptable,” the post continued. 

Although catching manta rays is generally banned in Florida, the state can allow special licenses for purposes that “increase the public’s knowledge and awareness of Florida’s marine resources.” The license to capture the manta ray on July 12 was issued by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, which allowed for one of the animals to be captured for exhibition purposes, the agency told PEOPLE.

“The take of manta rays is prohibited in state waters. However, the capture of the ray shown in the video was permitted by a Marine Special Activity License that allowed for the take of one manta ray for exhibition and education purposes,” Shannon Knowles, a spokesperson for the agency, said in a statement to PEOPLE.

“As a citizen of this country, you have the right and the moral obligation to address the issue with your local representatives, of our Government issuing permits for the cruel and inhumane capture of ocean mega fauna such as the giant manta ray for public display, especially if our marine resources are exported overseas for gainful purposes,” Denis Richard of Water Planet USA, who was present when the video was filmed, told PEOPLE in a statement. 

“These permits are a disgrace and an insult to our country’s and the world’s scientific community,” Richard continued. 

No one from Water Planet USA appeared on-camera, but someone from their boat could be heard yelling, “Let him go! You should be ashamed of yourselves!”

SeaWorld Abu Dhabi opened in May 2023 and operates as a research, rescue & rehabilitation center. It is the first SeaWorld park outside of the U.S. and the first park without orcas. It is also the largest indoor marine-life theme park.

However, Richard says that’s still not good enough. 

“The risks of that manta ray being traumatized and possibly dying in that process are very high because they are a very sensitive species,” the Water Planet USA founder and CEO told the Orlando Sentinel. 

He told WPLG his thoughts on witnessing the capture:

“I was horrified, and everybody on board was really upset,” Richard told WPLG of witnessing the capture. “I mean, he was in pain. That animal was in pain.”

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Giant manta rays are the world’s largest ray with a wingspan of up to 26 feet, according to the National Marine Fisheries Service, a U.S. federal agency within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

This species of rays has “highly fragmented populations,” and their main threats are commercial fishing, the agency said. It is considered a threatened species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.

PEOPLE was not immediately able to reach SeaWorld Abu Dhabi for comment.