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Reef mantas, a large ray species, frequent Maldivian waters all year round but exist primarily in the western side of the atolls from November to April and on the eastern side from May to October. Scuba divers frequent the Baa and Addu atolls. The Baa atoll draws in hundreds of manta rays to feast on the zooplankton each year. Here, the mantas coexist with other creatures like whale sharks. At the Addu Atoll, manta rays glide through the water year-round, some of which have a wingspan of more than five meters. 

Despite their significant presence in the ocean and admiration from divers, manta rays remain a mystery. Formed in 2011, the Manta Trust is dedicated to research that furthers understanding and works to conserve rays and their habitats. Unfortunately, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the species are considered vulnerable due to pollution and commercial fishing threats. In response, the organization is founded on protecting this unique species of aquatic life.

The Manta Trust’s team has over 20 projects across the globe and collaborates with businesses, governments, individuals, and local communities to execute them. The organization is committed to education, specifically in using manta rays as an introduction to ecosystem conservation as a whole to ensure the long-term survival of these creatures.

The organization has also cataloged more than 5,100 manta rays in its database. This is done by logging the spot patterns on their stomachs as each manta ray’s spot pattern is unique, essentially acting as a fingerprint. In turn, this is used to track the mantas to learn their migration patterns, find which habitats are essential to their feeding and reproduction, and thus aids in the organization making educated decisions over how to best manage and conserve this species. Manta ray fanatics can take part in this effort to catalog the creature as the Manta Trust has an online portal in which people can submit images of manta ray stomachs that they find from their diving and snorkeling adventures.

In 2020 alone, the organization published 11 peer-reviewed papers exploring genetic analysis, behavior, and migration patterns. In addition to their research, the Manta Trust works with Fish Free February to raise awareness about the dangers of commercial fishing and works alongside the Protect Maldives Seagrass campaign to encourage businesses to protect seagrass beds instead of causing harm to them. The organization also played a role in adding manta rays to the Maldives’ protected species. 

The Manta Trust Maldives Team

 -->  Visit the Manta Trust Website  <--

They made a concerted effort to rid a nearby dive site of years and years of fishing line, cleaning the newly opened Underwater Military Museum of the single-use plastic and aluminum cans that blow in off the shore of the public beach, and their house reef. From December 15th – June 29th they cleaned 1230 kilos of debris. Anywhere from 2 to 5 volunteer divers joined the staff in these cleanups. The dive center did not charge any of the volunteers for dives and if they wanted to do a fun dive afterward, they did so offering a 20% discount.  

Every one of those kilos of debris were sorted, counted, and weighed according to PADI Project Aware and then the data was uploaded on the Project AWARE website. Deep Blue partnered with their next-door neighbor, H&S Watersports, in these cleanup campaigns. The staff of H&S did several shore cleanups and gathered loads of plastic bottles, cigarette butts, plastic bags, and other items. In addition, two volunteers at the dive shop did a Go Fund Me campaign to help pay staff salaries for cleanups. They successfully raised $2835, exceeding their goal of $2800. And Deep Blue management was able to find other creative ways of funding salaries for the cleanups as well. All of this helped keep staff on board during the challenge of the pandemic.

When business started picking up after Jordan’s reopening to tourists, the cleanup campaign was slowed, but the effect of the work they did was apparent. Mohammed Leddawi, the Operation Manager, and owner of Deep Blue also used the downtime to give the business a facelift, ensure that all equipment was in top shape, ensure Covid measures were put in place, and work on improving the dive boats through remodels and refurbishing. All of this to improve customer experiences.

Slowly the dive center is rising from the pandemic. The pandemic was tough, and still is, on tourism-related businesses, but Deep Blue staff kept up good spirits though continuing to work hard and showing their love and concern for healthy reefs through regular cleanups. 

Learn more about Deep Blue Dive Center at: https://www.deepbluedivecenter.com