Manta Trust
Formed in 2005, the Maldivian Manta Ray Project (MMRP) is the founding project of the Manta Trust. It consists of a country-wide network of dive instructors, biologists, communities and tourism operators, with roughly a dozen MMRP staff based across several atolls.
The MMRP collects data around the country's manta population, its movements, and how the environment and tourism / human interactions affect them. Since its inception, the project has identified over 4,300 different individual reef manta rays (Mobula alfredi), from more than 50,000 photo-ID sightings - many of which submitted by members of the public via IDtheManta. This makes the Maldivian reef manta population the largest, and one of the most intensively studied populations in the world.
Baa Atoll is a special place for manta rays as it is home to Hanifaru Bay, the site of the largest manta aggregations in the world. Up to a hundred or more mantas can been seen feeding in Hanifaru Bay together.
The participating resorts in the Baa Atoll Festival all endeavour to adhere to the rules and regulations for Hanifaru marine protected area including the visiting schedule published by Baa Atoll Biosphere Reserve. (hyperlink to attached schedule).
These resorts also advocate and promote the Manta Trust’s ‘How to Swim with Manta Rays’ code of conduct guide. For more information on this please visit www.swimwithmantas.org.
Speak to your resort’s Marine Biologist to find out how you can join a manta ray adventure and have a life changing encounter.
