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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  <--

Conservationists have welcomed the announcement by Ecuador that it will expand the marine reserve around the Galapagos islands by 60,000 sq km.

President Guillermo Lasso announced the move at the COP 26 climate summit in Glasgow. Mr. Lasso told the BBC that his government wanted to show that action rather than words was the most effective way to fight climate change. Conservationists called it "a brilliant first step". The existing marine protected area around the Galapagos measures 133,000 sq km and was one of the first large-scale marine conservation areas to be created. It is one of the most productive marine ecosystems in the world. Conservationists hope that its expansion will protect the migration routes of endangered species such as the whale shark and make the reserve more resilient to climate change.

Among those praising the move is Sarah Darwin, the great-great-granddaughter of biologist Charles Darwin, whose theory of evolution was inspired by the biodiversity he found on the Galapagos. Sarah, a botanist and an ambassador for the Galapagos Conservation Trust, told the BBC that she was "very, very excited that President Lasso is taking the Galapagos so seriously".

"We're really looking forward to taking further conservation measures forward with him both in the marine reserve and the islands themselves," she said. "This is a real commitment, I think." But the CEO of the Galapagos Conservation Trust, Sharon Johnson, said it was important that the resources be put in place to adequately protect the newly enlarged reserve. In 2020, a huge number of Chinese fishing boats were spotted in waters off the Galapagos with conservationists accusing the fleet of "pillaging" the area for squid.

President Lasso denied that the expansion of the marine reserve was a response to the Chinese fleet's movements, insisting it was "an autonomous decision of the Ecuadorean government". Mr. Lasso said that in his most recent conversation with the Chinese president he sensed "a clear commitment to respect Ecuador's maritime" and that he, therefore, hoped there would be no repeat of the scenes which had played out in 2020. He added that his government would swap debt for conservation to create a fund that would allow Ecuador to beef up navy patrols to protect the area and to provide artisanal fishermen working outside the marine reserve with support. 

The Galapagos and the seas surrounding them are a unique ecosystem home to whales, turtles, and tuna, explain Prof Sandy Tudhope and Dr. Meriwether Wilson from the University of Edinburgh. The fact that they are so rich in commercially important species is also what makes them so attractive to fishermen, say the two scientists, who were part of the team whose research underpinned the decision to expand the reserve.

Check out our Galapagos Liveaboards -->  Ecuador Liveaboards

Our thanks to Vanessa Buschschluter - BBC News for this article. Full article HERE.

Four uninhabited volcanic islands make up the Revillagigedos: Socorro, Clarion, San Benedicto, and Roca Partida. They raise up from sea level from 100 to 3,800 feet out of the water from the seafloor, creating exceptional walls, pinnacles and sheer drop-offs that act as cleaning and feeding stations for oceanic mantas and half a dozen shark species, including mass aggregations of scalloped hammerheads.

Revillagigedos is an oasis in the middle of the eastern Pacific. The four islands sit at the convergence of the cool California Current flowing from the north and the warmer North Equatorial Current, creating an ideal spot for nutrients to rise from the deep and attract passing pelagics. This makes Revilla a hotspot for manta rays, humpback whales, whale sharks, dolphins, hammerheads, Galapagos sharks—nearly every variety of hungry traveler.

The Revillagigedos are part of a unique chain with amazing undersea volcanic mounds. Because of the remote nature, there’s just not a lot of pressure on the sites.

Cabo Pierce, the Aquarium, and El Canyon dive sites offer the chance to see just about any big animals you can imagine—humpback whales, pacific bottlenose dolphins, whale sharks, the list goes on.

Because these are important waterways for endangered megafauna, the islands were deemed a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2016, and a year later were established as the Revillagigedo National Park. Even though they’re remote, they’re patrolled by the local government to prevent illegal fishing.

Because the archipelago is a national park and UNESCO World Heritage Site, certain protective measures are in place. Night diving, solo diving, and diving in the blue are not offered for safety reasons. Also, reef hooks, knives, dive lights not connected to cameras, and gloves are not permitted. In order to manage the number of divers on each site, liveaboards coordinate the timing of their dives. Because of this, if there are several boats at a site, they may limit the number of dives per day to three. The park has a set limit on the number of liveaboards that can visit, but flexibility is key in these parts.