Exciting News From the Maldives, Have Your Donations Doubled This Month, Oceanic Manta Rays of New Zealand and More manta news this month

16 May, 2023

Join #TeamManta and cross the ocean with us

The Manta Trust's virtual fitness challenge, Cross The Oceans, is back in June! Join us and collectively, we'll travel over 5000km from the Caribbean to Peru, all whilst raising money for manta ray conservation.

To join, you need to commit to a distance to complete over the month that will challenge you, in any discipline that works for you, or even a mix of disciplines. These could include running, swimming, and cycling, but also adaptive sports, walking, kayaking, paddleboarding, roller skating, and more…

Not only will you be getting fit and healthy, but you'll also be contributing to a fantastic cause. Manta rays are majestic creatures that need our protection, and by participating in this challenge, you're helping to make a difference.

So, if you want to get active and support manta ray conservation then click the link below to sign up and make a collective effort to support manta rays.

LEARN MORE

CROSS THE OCEANS ROUTE

In 2021, a team of 28 passionate manta ray lovers ran, cycled, swam, kayaked and walked a grand total of 4,475km! In doing so, they exceeded their 2,700km target and raised £11,000 for manta ray conservation! Their route started in the UK, past the Azores, into the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. A portion of the funds raised were donated to the Manta Catalog Azores project led by PhD candidate Ana Sobral.

In 2022, Team Manta travelled from the Azores, 5,294km, completing the Atlantic leg of Cross the Oceans and virtually visited two more of our affiliate projects; Manta Caribbean Project in Mexico and the Caribbean Islands Manta Conservation Program.

Having travelled across the Atlantic Ocean over the last two years, in 2023 we are starting our exiciting journey over to the vast Pacific Ocean. We will travel a total of 5,042km from the Manta Caribbean Project to the Peru Mobulid Project, where our affiliate project team members are working hard to reduce fisheries bycatch of manta and devil rays.

Sign up to Cross the Oceans and join us by participating with your sports discipline, travelling to Peru in the month of June, and raising money to protect mobulid species.

For more information and to sign up, visit the link below!

Cross The Oceans

NEW SCIENCE ALERT

Have you ever wondered why manta and devil rays gather in large numbers?

In this new study, we analyse aggregation behaviour for manta and devil ray species, providing consistent definitions for grouping events and summarizing the existing research on drivers and environmental factors triggering these events.
Unfortunately, manta and devil rays’ vulnerability to fisheries exploitation, bycatch, boat collisions, entanglement and unregulated tourism is exacerbated by their aggregative behaviour.

So, we highlight knowledge gaps for future research prioritization and developments in the field for the identification of aggregation sites, the study of aggregation size and demographics and the functions and timing of aggregations.

Read Full Article

OCEAN ARMOUR

We are delighted to welcome Ocean Armour as a new Commercial Supporter for the Manta Trust.

Meet Ocean Armour, this brand designs practical and stylish garments for manta lovers, turning single-use plastic into quick drying, anti microbial hooded changing towels & beach towels.

Ocean Armour is donating 10% of it's profits, from their manta ray changing poncho and beach towel designs, to the Manta Trust!

Learn more about Ocean Armour and our other Commercial Supporters below!

Commercial Supporters

A huge thank you to everyone who donated to our RahVeshi Fund, your donations have been DOUBLED by The Green Match Fund and we have reached our fundraising target!

Due to your support we are now able to work towards empowering remote communities in the Maldives to become guardians of their marine environment and provide access to work and education opportunities in this sector!

To read more about the RahVeshi Fund, click the link below!

RahVeshi Fund

IN THE PRESS

"A nursery for the vulnerable ocean dweller has been discovered off the Indian Ocean's Raa Atoll. A research group is attempting to harness tourism to protect it." - read the recently released article on National Geographic, written by Lauren Jarvis. This article highlights why the Maldives Manta Conservation Programme and the Manta Trust are working towards creating an important sanctuary in Maamunagau Island’s lagoon.

To read the full article, click the link below!

Read Full Article

EARTH DAY 2023

In celebration of Earth Day 2023, Manta México Caribe had the opportunity to visit Isla Contoy National Park, a Protected Natural Area in the north of Quintana Roo State in Mexico, together with members of the Club de Tiburoneros Fc Isla Mujeres.

This protected area has some of the greatest biodiversity and important ecosystems in Quintana Roo State. This was an incredible opportunity for the children of Isla Mujeres to learn about the natural resources that surround this beautiful Island.

This was possible due to the support of Seacology and Marisol Rueda Flores.

EDUCATION SERIES

Over the last few weeks, we have be shining a social media spotlight light on the incredible work being done by affiliate projects, students and staff across the globe.

The Manta Trust aims to conserve manta and devil rays and their habitats through research, collaboration, and education. Our educational mission is to inspire people around the world to become knowledgeable about manta and devil rays and passionate about protecting ocean habitats.

During National Careers Week, we spoke to Muhammad Ghozaly Salim (Egin), the co-leader of Mobula Project Indonesia and Elly Dove who co-leads the Manta Costa Rica project alongside Jeffry Madrigal. We asked Muhammad and Elly about what pathways they took to venture into the marine conservation field!

We highlighted our Ocean Women project, and how this project ties into educational work. We spoke about our Studentships, which supports PhD, MSc and BSc students, The Ocean Giants Programme for Conservationist Development, and about our recently released “Conserving Manta & Devil Rays: An Education & Diversity Strategy”.

We also featured the amazing educational work done by our affiliate projects:

Mobula Conservation has been able to deliver educational talks with 130 children in rural villages in Mexico. They also ran an art competition and took the 4 winners swimming with devil rays.

The Peru Mobulid Project conducted workshops for local communities about mobulid conservation initiatives, attended by 120 people.

The Manta Caribbean Project organised a workshop, attended by 67 people in Mexico, in collaboration with the Rufford Foundation and a workshop for the Global Ghost Gear Initiative & Ministry of International Affairs.

The African Marine Mammal Conservation Organization - AMMCO, organised a series of workshops to educate and engage fishermen in sustainable fishing techniques. Through events such as the annual Street whale conference, AMMCO sensitized fishermen in a format merging art, sport and science.

The Maldives Manta Conservation Programme (MMCP) have organised various events including the Baa Atoll Maldives Manta Festival. MMCP run 'Moodhu Madharusa' marine education programmes that teach Maldivian school children about the marine environment, the threats it faces, and how to conserve it. The programme takes many children snorkelling for the first time! In 2022, 320 students joined the Marine Education Programme.

The French Polynesia Manta Project reached 500 local school children with their outreach during the Science Fair in Tahiti.

The Micronesian Conservation Coalition hosted an intense 4-week field school; The Marine Island Ecology Course, where 20 children were able to participate! Students learnt to snorkel, conduct underwater surveys, take wind, depth, and salinity readings, and plankton tows.

The Indonesia Manta Project hosted a marine conservation education program in West and Southwest Rote. 320 children between the ages of 6 and 12, from 6 different primary schools participated!

Check out our website to learn more about our affiliate projects and the work they do!

Our Affiliate Projects

Related pages:

• Manta Trust: What's New, April 2023
• Liveaboard Special Offers, Last Minute Deals
• Manta Rays in The Maldives
• Maldives Manta Ray Hot spots
• Love Dolphins? Here are the best places to dive with Them