A diving compressor, dive tanks and a suitable support vessel to dive/free-dive from is required. Berths, duration and equipment requirementsĪ two-week period of two to four berths in the first quarter of 2021/22 for oceanic manta rays and year-round for reef manta rays.
#Oceanic manta ray free
Yacht owners will be able to dive, snorkel and free dive to observe the work of the scientists.
A lot is known about the smaller reef manta rays in the more accessible areas of the Maldives but the team also wants to understand migration and habitat use of oceanic mantas in the more remote regions of this huge archipelago. “These findings will encourage further research into oceanic manta rays, and Saudi Arabia has a real chance to model best practice in terms of sustainable tourism for marine wildlife.The project is an extension of research on mantas in the Maldives that has been going on for more than 17 years. “This study highlights the untapped value of the Red Sea, not just to scientists, but to all the nations surrounding its coasts,” says Berumen. The only other known nursery ground for oceanic manta rays is the Flower Garden Banks, a marine sanctuary in the Gulf of Mexico, where sightings of juvenile males were confirmed in a recent paper. The young rays were regularly spotted at Sharm El-Sheikh, suggesting that the area could be a nursery ground.” “I identified 27 young males and estimate that a further 29 were juvenile females. “I noticed that many of the rays were really young - they were small, and I could see juvenile males with immature sexual organs,” says Knochel. The ability of these animals to undertake long-distance movements over deep water means that multinational cooperation will be required to protect them effectively. Movements were recorded for 21 rays sighted in more than one location, including basin-spanning migrations from one side of the Red Sea to the other. The team identified 267 individuals from 395 sightings in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Jordan and Israel, from 2004 to 2021. “I spent weeks analyzing photographs to identify as many individuals as I could.” “Like whale sharks, manta rays have unique spot patterns on their bodies this, together with size estimates gleaned from photographs, meant that individuals could be identified,” says Knochel. These online images doubled the amount of data for the project. They then reached out to members of the public who had posted photographs of rays taken in the Red Sea region on various social media platforms. They contacted Elke Bojanowski, a marine scientist and divemaster in Egypt, who granted access to her image archives. Knochel and colleagues began by collating images and details of sightings they had witnessed.
I realized we could tap into social media for help.”
#Oceanic manta ray full
“I wanted to learn more about the Red Sea manta population, but a full scientific survey would be challenging and expensive. “There are so many unknowns about these charismatic creatures,” says Anna Knochel, a former Masters student at KAUST who led the project under the supervision of Michael Berumen. It also hints at a potential nursery ground off the coast of Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. Now, a study led by KAUST researchers has provided insights into population demographics and the movement of these rays across the Red Sea region. The endangered oceanic manta ray Mobula birostris is an iconic marine creature, and yet surprisingly little is known about them.
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