This isn't a new problem. Author Peter Benchley was famous for his book Jaws, but he spent most of his life working for ocean conservation efforts, including protecting sharks and rays. He wrote this novel The Girl of the Sea of Cortez in 1983. It's about a young girl's efforts to stop her fishing village on the Baja Peninsula from killing the manta rays. Peter was inspired to write the story after a real life encounter with rays in the Sea of Cortez. He recalls one giving him a ride during a dive there. In 2008, Peter's widow, Wendy, returned to the Sea of Cortez with a research expedition. She was hoping to catch a glimpse of some of Peter's favorite animals, sharks and rays. She was shocked to see there were none there.