Manta Ray

A first-of-its-kind shark and ray mapping effort found the bay, along with waters off the southern Everglades and a tiny South Florida key play an essential part in their survival. "Biscayne Bay is Miami's backyard. But it's still critically important to a lot of different species of shark and ray," a researcher told WLRN.

The move comes after a video of a fishing boat off the Panhandle hauling aboard an exhausted manta ray went viral.

According to a new study and hundreds of videos shot mostly in waters near Palm Beach County, manta rays can act as a mobile home, providing food, shelter, even honeymoon suites for fish in sometimes inhospitable waters.

The measure would ban capturing threatened or endangered marine life off the Florida coast for exhibits.