Conservation through Research, Awareness and Education
UK Registered Charity Number: 1145387
UK Registered Charity Number: 1145387
Lying close to the equator and within the doldrums, the Maldives rarely experiences any severe weather events. However, the Maldives has two distinct Monsoons (Seasons) a year which shape the prevailing weather patterns and drive the ocean currents. This year in the Maldives the winds of change did not blow as expected, reducing productivity and significantly affecting the feeding aggregations and reproductive success of the resident population of manta rays... (more)
In June 2011 at the 40th anniversary of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation's (UNESCO's) 'Man and the Biosphere Program' in Dresden, Germany the entirety of Baa Atoll in the Republic of Maldives was declared a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve. Baa Atoll joins an illustrious list of international Biosphere Reserves including: The Galapagos Islands, Ayer’s Rock in Australia, the Pantanal wetlands of Brazil, the Sundarbans of India and Kenya's Amboseli NP... (more)
People often ask me why I decided to study manta rays. Why would a British marine biologist move halfway around the world to devote the last seven years of his life to unravelling the lives of the resident population of reef manta rays (Manta alfredi) which inhabit the tropical coral reefs of the Republic of Maldives? It’s a good question, a seemingly simple question, yet one which I had not considered myself until I was first asked. And it’s a question I still find difficult to answer satisfactorily with words today... (more)
Like ripples radiating from a giant stone skimmed hundreds of kilometres across the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the 26 Coral Atolls which form the Maldives Archipelago stretch out in a long line from 7° North straight down 870 kilometres (540 miles) to just South of the equator. These tiny specks of land, reaching no more than 2.5m above sea level at any point, rise 2,000 metres straight up from the depths of the Indian Ocean to create a thriving marine oasis amidst the barren wilderness of the open sea... (more)
It’s five in the morning and my alarm clock snaps me back into reality, I’m not exactly a morning person, so dragging myself out of bed at such an unsociable hour needs to have a good incentive. And for me, the knowledge that I will be spending the day underwater with my favourite animals provides me with just such an incentive. Even after many thousands of dives and snorkels with these graceful giants I never tire of immersing myself in their world as I try to unlock the mysteries of their lives... (more)
Read on to find out about the Maldivian Mantas in 2012
Yap’s cultural and environmental heritage is in jeopardy…
An historic day for elasmobranch conservation!
| Manta ID Number: | MA-ID-0008 |
| Species: | Reef Manta Ray - Manta alfredi |
| Manta Name: | Popcorn |
| Sex: | Female |
| First Sighting: | April 2011 |
| Location: | Raja Ampat, Indonesia |
| Manta ID Number: | MA-ID-0037 |
| Species: | Reef Manta Ray - Manta alfredi |
| Manta Name: | Akiko |
| Sex: | Female |
| First Sighting: | April 2011 |
| Location: | Raja Ampat, Indonesia |
| Manta ID Number: | MA-MV-0012 |
| Species: | Reef Manta Ray - Manta alfredi |
| Manta Name: | Ping-Pong |
| Sex: | Female |
| First Sighting: | Jan 1989 |
| Location: | Republic of Maldives |
| Manta ID Number: | MA-MV-0025 |
| Species: | Reef Manta Ray - Manta alfredi |
| Manta Name: | Bubbles |
| Sex: | Female |
| First Sighting: | Aug 2005 |
| Location: | Republic of Maldives |
| Manta ID Number: | MA-MV-0084 |
| Species: | Reef Manta Ray - Manta alfredi |
| Manta Name: | Silver |
| Sex: | Male |
| First Sighting: | Oct 2005 |
| Location: | Republic of Maldives |
| Manta ID Number: | MA-MV-0100 |
| Species: | Reef Manta Ray - Manta alfredi |
| Manta Name: | Rocket |
| Sex: | Female |
| First Sighting: | Nov 2004 |
| Location: | Republic of Maldives |
| Manta ID Number: | MA-MV-0219 |
| Species: | Reef Manta Ray - Manta alfredi |
| Manta Name: | Bob |
| Sex: | Male |
| First Sighting: | Nov 2004 |
| Location: | Republic of Maldives |
| Manta ID Number: | MA-MV-0976 |
| Species: | Reef Manta Ray - Manta alfredi |
| Manta Name: | Marlin |
| Sex: | Female |
| First Sighting: | June 2008 |
| Location: | Republic of Maldives |
| Manta ID Number: | MA-MV-1113 |
| Species: | Reef Manta Ray - Manta alfredi |
| Manta Name: | Dipstick |
| Sex: | Female |
| First Sighting: | June 2008 |
| Location: | Republic of Maldives |
| Manta ID Number: | MB-MV-0053 |
| Species: | Oceanic Manta Ray - Manta birostris |
| Manta Name: | Flappy Jack |
| Sex: | Male |
| First Sighting: | March 2011 |
| Location: | Republic of Maldives |
| Manta ID Number: | MB-MX-0340 |
| Species: | Oceanic Manta Ray - Manta birostris |
| Manta Name: | Seabat |
| Sex: | Male |
| First Sighting: | Jan 2010 |
| Location: | Mexico |
| Manta ID Number: | MB-MX-0083 |
| Species: | Oceanic Manta Ray - Manta birostris |
| Manta Name: | Squiggle |
| Sex: | Female |
| First Sighting: | March 1995 |
| Location: | Mexico |
