Support MMF Florida

Adopt a Florida Manta Ray

Adopt a real, named manta ray from the Florida Manta Project — and fund the first-ever study of Florida's manta rays. You'll receive a personalized adoption certificate, plus an email each time your manta is seen again. Or name a manta ray yourself.

Choose your manta ray.

Oceana
Oceana is a young female manta who is a survivor of fishing line entanglement. Luckily, our research team was able to remove the fishing line, allowing Oceana to swim and eat freely.
Ma’Layiah
Ma’Layiah is a juvenile female manta first sighted in 2025. Since then, she’s been one of our most frequent South Florida visitors. She’s very friendly, and has even interacted with our researchers in the past. Some mantas can be very curious about our scientific fieldwork!
Ridley
Ridley is one of South Beach, Miami’s resident manta celebrities. He’s a friendly young male manta that loves to filter feed with snorkelers.
Bruce
Named for the sharkbite injury to his right pectoral fin, Bruce is a curious young manta that’s been seen traveling from Palm Beach to Miami and beyond!
Nina Simone
Nina is a frequent visitor and often seen by drone pilots all along Florida’s Southeast Coast. We use these sightings to track where mantas are being seen, which is very important data for understanding manta behavior!

ADOPT A MANTA RAY
$50

Adopt Now

The Official MMF Manta Ray Adoption Pack includes:

✓ Personalized adoption e-certificate featuring your manta ray
✓ Sighting updates by email when your manta is spotted again
✓ MMF conservation updates by email
✓ Tax-deductible receipt — MMF is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit

ADOPT AND NAME A MANTA RAY
$200

Adopt Now

Your Personalized Naming and Adoption Package includes:

✓ Exclusive naming rights for your very own Florida manta ray
✓ Personalized adoption e-certificate featuring your manta ray
✓ Sighting updates by email when your manta is spotted again
✓ MMF conservation updates by email
✓ Tax-deductible receipt — MMF is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit

All adoptions are a one-off payment; prices in US$. On the adoption form, before you pay, you'll choose which manta to adopt (or leave it to us) and the name for the certificate. Your personalized e-certificate arrives within five days.

“This is the first-ever study of Florida manta rays and we are collecting data that is critical to the conservation of these animals.”

Jessica Pate
Lead Scientist, Florida Manta Project · US Country Manager, Marine Megafauna Foundation

Your adoption helps us research and protect these threatened rays.

What have we achieved recently?

A potential manta nursery discovered: the Florida Manta Project found a rare juvenile manta habitat off south Florida, and documented the boat strikes, fishing line, and other threats these rays face.
Satellite tracking: we tag Florida mantas to reveal their migrations — the data that protection depends on.
Angler outreach: we published the first study of recreational anglers' knowledge of and attitudes toward manta ray conservation.
New information on the Atlantic manta ray: the Florida Manta Project contributed to the official description of the Atlantic manta ray (Mobula yarae), the species that is most commonly found in South Florida.

Manta Adoption FAQs

What do you spend the contributions on?

We are a small team of multi-tasking conservationists, scientists, and educators. Your support funds pioneering fieldwork, community work to safeguard manta ray populations, and training for the next generation of conservationists.

How does it work?

When you select “Adopt a Manta Ray”, the form will ask for your details, the adoptee’s name for the certificate, and which Florida manta ray you’d like to adopt (or leave it blank and we’ll choose a manta for you).

When you select “Adopt and Name a Manta Ray”, a scientist from our Florida team will reach out to you directly to choose and name your very own manta, and save that information in our global database.

For both options, our team will send you a personalized e-certificate within five days, and you’ll receive an email update each time your manta is seen!