Kate M. Serrano
Would you kill a
giant manta ray? You’re answer might be a big no yet unknown to some, manta
rays are facing extinction. Manta rays are found in temperate, subtropical and
tropical waters, single or in groups. Manta gills are highly valued in Chinese
traditional medicine as they are used for trapping food particles when
filter-feeding. What used to be known as limited scale fishery has become an
expanding commercialized fishery in some countries thus dramatically increasing
the number of mantas caught each year. And due to their slow growth and slow
reproductive rate (one pup every 2 to 5 years), manta rays have a limited
capacity to recover from overfishing; a decline in their population has been
observed. Manta rays though are protected in some countries like the Philippines,
Mexico, Ecuador, Hawaii, Western Australia, and New Zealand but they may
migrate into unprotected waters of other countries.
Governments from
the countries listed have laws in place that make harming or killing a manta
ray illegal. This is not only for conservation but also for the amount of
revenue that tourists pay to be in the waters with them. So what can we do to
help? We expose these manta rays to
danger through the chemicals and toxins that enter the water. They have very
thin mucus membranes that protect them, so it is important that we keep the
waters clean. There are also cause-oriented groups all over the world that
offer numerous information online we can reach out to. Learn more and inform others
about the urgent need to protect manta rays. Or if you are brave enough, dive
with a manta ray! Dive ecotourism is a more sustainable economic alternative to
fishing. Time is ticking. We must act before it’s too late.
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