From Doug Allan' talk to Maldives Manta Retreat to other manta news this month

21 August, 2022

Doug Allan: Blue Planet camera operator talk - tickets live!

Doug Allan is a multi-Emmy and BAFTA award-winning wildlife cameraman with over 35 years and 100 filming expeditions under his belt. Sir David Attenborough has referred to him as one of the best camera operators he's ever worked with! Doug will be sharing his experiences behind the camera filming manta rays and incredible natural spectacles at the World Manta Day event hosted by the Manta Trust.

Venue: Royal Geographical Society, London
Date: September 17th 2022
Time: 19:30 - 21:00
Price: £15

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MALDIVES MANTA RETREAT

Reaching out to adventure travellers and nature lovers, our Manta Trust team based at the InterContinental Maldives Maamunagau Resort welcomes you to join them for a five-day research adventure. The Manta Retreat is a thoughtfully curated programme that has been put together to educate, explore and raise awareness for manta rays in their natural habitat. Join our team from the 23rd-28th October for the chance to learn more about these gentle giants, contribute to research in action, and learn more about our conservation efforts for manta rays in the Maldives.

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EKU EKY MALDIVES

Our team in Laamu, Maldives, recently took part in the first quarterly “Eku Eky” meeting of the year (meaning ‘together’ in the local language, Dhivehi). The program brings together community leaders from all 11 inhabited islands in Laamu, to represent the atoll’s 13,000 residents, including local island councils, schools, women’s development committees, and police departments. The program aims to support locals in taking ownership of sustainable development projects in the atoll, by providing access to financial support through Six Senses Sustainability Fund.

SALESFORCE EXPEDITION

After a couple of years break due to the global pandemic, we're super excited to be back in the field with the Salesforce VTO (Volunteer Time Off) teams! Salesforce staff help survey for manta rays, collect photo IDs, work through a backlog of photo IDs, get involved in beach clean-ups, support outreach sessions and receive daily marine conservation presentations and workshops. Additionally, the chartering of a vessel by the team enables the Manta Trust to visit more remote regions where we have a lack of data, and can't normally access.

If your business is interested in running a volunteer or team bonding expedition focused around manta ray conservation, or if you have a group of diving friends outside of the workplace who want to make an impact, please do reach out!

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WORLD OCEANS DAY EVENT

We had a great time at the World Oceans Day event at the National Maritime Museum in London the other week. Thank you to everyone who came to Jen's talk, and who visited our stand to chat manta and devil rays. We had a great day discussing marine conservation issues and training lots of junior scientists in manta IDing!

UPCYCLING FUNDRAISER

Thank you so much to the Hoad family for running an upcycling stall at their local village fair in support of the Manta Trust. Not only did they raise over £250 for the Manta Trust, but they also found a new home for unwanted items, preventing unnecessary waste! What a fantastic way to minimise our impact on the planet.

New Affiliate Project - Proyecto Manta Pacific Mexico

Proyecto Manta Pacific Mexico was established in 2014 in Banderas Bay, Mexico by Dr. Joshua Stewart, who engaged local fishermen and marine biology students from the bay and Baja California Sur in the implementation of an intensive manta ray monitoring program on the southern coast of Banderas Bay.
Proyecto Manta supports marine conservation with an emphasis on the protection and sustainable tourism around manta rays (Mobula birostris) through research, capacity building, citizen science and stakeholder engagement.
Visit their webpage to learn more about the project.

Did you know?

Laamu atoll in the Maldives hosts a small, but highly, residential population of manta rays - 138 to be precise!

The topography of Laamu Atoll differs from that of the more northern atolls of the Maldives, with only six channels that break the outer reef. While Laamu Atoll experiences strong oceanic currents, water movement through the Atoll is restricted, and therefore manta ray migration is less than in other atolls.

This means our researchers tend to see the same individuals over and over, and can easily track changes in their growth and reproduction…they can easily recognise most of their spots and identify them under water!