Life on board the Tui Tai Expeditions Cruises lets you get up close and personal with the beauty and unpredictability of the ocean. Manta Rays are incredibly illusive and breathtaking, and when they grace you with their presence it is an experience you will not soon forget.
Our site where we encounter Manta Rays is a plankton rich feeding area. They swim close to the surface with their wingtips piercing the surface, this is how we spot them as it is also a area with lots of water movement and intense currents. Over time we have narrowed down the tide times, moon phases and conditions that the Manta Rays like but still at the end of the day its still down to chance as a lot is unknown about these magnificent creatures.
Manta Ray of Hope is an organisation that is trying to study more about Manta Rays all over the world. Their site also brings to light the terrible up and coming industry of manta fishing in Asia for "medical purposes". Have a look at the video to learn more.. Manta Ray of Hope
On board the Tui Tai we have decided to use our unique encounters to learn more about these amazing creatures by creating detailed logs of conditions,times, amount of rays and their behaviour. A Photo ID log of the Mantas belly will identify each individual manta like a finger print so we can see how many of the same animals return each time and use this information to further our knowledge about these creatures.
Education and tourism will hopefully go along way in protecting the Mantas in Fiji and all over the world. They are such an awe inspiring, peaceful giant of the sea and an encounter is a privilege that every one should hope for...
I will keep you posted on our progress...
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