Manta Trust is a marine conservation group dedicated to creating awareness about the elusive and under-studied manta rays around the world. It started in the Maldives, where the Maldivian Manta Ray Project was established back in 2005. The Trust’s Media and Communications Manager Simon Hilbourne throws some light on the deep-sea dweller, and the bigger picture of ocean conservation. By Nolan Lewis
Travel + Leisure India: Who founded the Manta Trust and why?
Simon Hilbourne: The Manta Trust was set up in 2011, when its founder, marine biologist Dr. Guy Stevens was in Sri Lanka with photographer Thomas (Tom) Peschak. They were documenting the manta fisheries in the country with Guy as the scientist, and Tom as the photographer. Tom and Guy were having dinner one night near the end of the trip, and after seeing so many dead manta and devil rays, they discussed what needed to be done on a global scale to conserve these species. Tom suggested that because Guy was already working in half a dozen locations around the world with other manta scientists, and that he should form an organisation to focus on conservation and research efforts.
Travel + Leisure India: In terms of conservation efforts, why did your Trust decide to focus on the manta ray?
Simon Hilbourne: It started with an interest and fascination about manta rays and the fact that there was so little known about them at the time. Although we focus on mobulid rays—manta and devil rays—we see these animals as a flagship species. The strongest motivator of all is caring for an animal, an environment, and creating some level of empathy towards the species that you’re trying to protect or its habitat. Manta rays are extremely captivating; they’re beautiful to look at. They’re something that people really seem to connect to and care about. Because they’re big and they move about the coral reef environment, they need a lot of space. If you want to protect manta rays and protect the species effectively, you have to protect the reef ecosystem as well. By proxy, protecting mantas equals protection of the coral reef ecosystem in which they live.
Travel + Leisure India: How are manta rays important to the world’s ecosystem?
Simon Hilbourne: We get frustrated by questions like this—every species is important to ecosystem function! We should not view any species as more important than another. Without manta rays, the coral reef upon which they depend would not collapse, but the same statement applies to any single species. However, for each species lost, the foundations of the tree of life become weakened. As we chip away at the diversity of life, we lose resilience in the natural world’s ability to function. The question is not how important a single species is to its ecosystem, but how important a healthy ecosystem is to the survival of a species which depends on it, including humans.
Travel + Leisure India: How are humans endangering Mantas?
Simon Hilbourne: The biggest threats to manta rays currently are from fisheries fuelled largely by the economic value that comes with their gill plates. The gill plates are removed, dried, and exported mostly to southern China and Hong Kong where they are consumed as a pseudo-remedy for a number of ailments.
The other big threat to manta rays is the climate crisis, which is likely to disrupt food availability for manta rays and destroy habitats like coral reefs.
Lastly, unsustainable tourism can be detrimental to manta ray survival. Overcrowded dive sites, harassing manta rays, boat strikes and entanglements are all threats that come from the tourism sector. As a result, we launched our How To Swim With Mantas initiative to promote sustainable tourism globally.
Travel + Leisure India: What are the manta ray hotspots across the world?
Simon Hilbourne: Manta rays have a circum-global distribution throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. There are a number of manta ray hotspots around the world including the Maldives, Indonesia, Fiji, Mexico, and Ecuador.
Travel + Leisure India: What is a typical day at work for you at Manta Trust?
Simon Hilbourne: This depends largely on the project we are talking about. With over 25 affiliate projects around the world, our teams do very different things daily. In the Maldives, where our biggest research team is based, the team spend their days out on the water surveying, snorkelling, and diving with manta rays. They photograph each manta they encounter, record information about the weather, sea conditions (temperature, current, visibility, plankton levels, etc.) and anthropogenic variables (how many boats/divers/tourists, diver behaviour, etc.). On returning to the office, the mantas are IDed and the data input is fed into databases. Over 15 years of population monitoring, we have learnt a lot about manta ray ecology, life history, movements and migrations, and population demographics.
Other teams around the world, like in Sri Lanka, Peru, and Indonesia, focus their work on fish market surveys and document the catch rates of mobulid rays to better inform national and international policy.
Travel + Leisure India: Indians love vacationing in the Maldives! Are there any activities Manta Trust can organise for travellers?
Simon Hilbourne: This is difficult unless tourists visit one of our partner resorts: Four Seasons Resort Maldives at Landaa Giraavaru, Six Senses Laamu, InterContinental Maldives Maamunagau Resort or Hurawalhi Island Resort. Alternatively, guests can book a Manta Expeditions trip which are hosted by Manta Trust researchers. If people are swimming or diving with manta rays, they can always submit ID photos of the manta rays they encounter to us. This helps our research immensely and if the manta ray is new to our database, the guest gets to name it!
Travel + Leisure India: How can a layman reading this participate in the conservation of manta rays?
Simon Hilbourne: If you are visiting areas with manta rays, choosing a sustainable operator following code of conduct guidelines and submitting IDs are all great ways to help. Otherwise, in everyday life, eat more sustainably, reduce meat and seafood consumption, and be aware of where your seafood comes from and how it was caught. Tuna gill nets kill thousands of manta and devil rays each year.
Share knowledge about manta rays and their threats with friends and family. Support conservation groups like the Manta Trust by making a donation or adopting a manta ray through our website, to enable us to continue our work.
Related: Witness The Many Underwater Spectacles Of The Hanifaru Bay
