The shock generated by the Pacific electric ray can be enough to knock down an adult human.
It should be treated with caution, especially at night when it is active, and has been known to charge at divers with its mouth agape if harassed.
It is not known to be responsible for any fatalities, but may have been involved in several unexplained, fatal diving accidents.
This species fares poorly in captivity, as it usually refuses to feed when first introduced into an aquarium.
Since 2000, the Aquarium of the Bay and the Monterey Bay Aquarium have had some success keeping Pacific electric rays by offering them moving food.

The Pacific electric ray and its relatives are used as model organisms for biomedical research, because their electric organs contain an abundance of important nervous system proteins such as nicotinic acetylcholine receptor and acetylcholinesterase.
In the 1970s and 1980s, acetylcholine receptors from this species and the marbled electric ray (T. marmorata) became the first neurotransmitter receptors to be isolated and sequenced, in what is considered to be a landmark success in the field of neurobiology.
This led to a number of further advances, one of the most significant being the elucidation of the pathophysiology underlying the disease myasthenia gravis.
A small commercial fishery in southern California supplies Pacific electric rays for research purposes; as of 2005 this fishery may have employed as few as two fishers.
Otherwise, this ray has no economic value.
It is caught incidentally by commercial trawl and gillnet fisheries, and on hook-and-line by sport anglers.
These activities appear to have little impact on its population, leading it to be listed under Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Fishing for this ray is not managed by the Pacific Fishery Management Council.
The shock generated by the Pacific electric ray can be enough to knock down an adult human. It should be treated with caution, especially at night when it is active, and has been known to charge at divers with its mouth agape if harassed. It is not known to be responsible for any fatalities, but may have been involved in several unexplained, fatal diving accidents. This species fares poorly in captivity, as it usually refuses to feed when first introduced into an aquarium. Since 2000, the Aquarium of the Bay and the Monterey Bay Aquarium have had some success keeping Pacific electric rays by offering them moving food.
The Pacific electric ray and its relatives are used as model organisms for biomedical research, because their electric organs contain an abundance of important nervous system proteins such as nicotinic acetylcholine receptor and acetylcholinesterase. In the 1970s and 1980s, acetylcholine receptors from this species and the marbled electric ray (T. marmorata) became the first neurotransmitter receptors to be isolated and sequenced, in what is considered to be a landmark success in the field of neurobiology. This led to a number of further advances, one of the most significant being the elucidation of the pathophysiology underlying the disease myasthenia gravis. A small commercial fishery in southern California supplies Pacific electric rays for research purposes; as of 2005 this fishery may have employed as few as two fishers. Otherwise, this ray has no economic value. It is caught incidentally by commercial trawl and gillnet fisheries, and on hook-and-line by sport anglers. These activities appear to have little impact on its population, leading it to be listed under Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Fishing for this ray is not managed by the Pacific Fishery Management Council.
Pacific electric ray