![]() Manta birostris is the giant oceanic manta and Manta alfredi is the reef manta. There are at least two species of mantas. Some entangled mantas would swim directly to us as if to solicit assistance. Manta rays are the largest rays in the world. The Oceanic Manta Ray (Mobula birostris) is the largest ray species in the world with a disc width up to 700cm in extremely large specimens. These encounters always reminded us how intelligent these animals truly are. ![]() Our team members could spend entire dives cutting away at the nets and lines- the mantas patiently cooperating, remaining calm, barely swimming, the whole time. There are reef sharks hunting prey, rays gliding along the ocean floor and corals turning every color of the rainbow. Giant oceanic manta rays are among the few, unique fish species that can jump completely out of the water. ![]() There were times I would find myself hooked and entangled myself as I tried to rescue the mantas, and I constantly worried about getting pulled into the depths once connected to the mantas and the lines. Some of the mantas were so badly entangled with heavily fouled nets that the lines would embed into their skin, making rescue extremely difficult and dangerous. Every year we would spend dive after dive removing fishing lines, hooks, and, worst case, large fishing nets from the mantas. For example, one individual was recorded. "I was shocked to see how prevalent entanglements were in the region. The large body size of oceanic manta rays makes the spe- cies physiologically capable of swimming long distances. Andrea details harrowing accounts of rescues during her time there: Sadly, the study surfaced an alarming finding– over 500 individuals showed human-induced scarring, mainly from nets or fishing line entanglement – highlighting a significant threat from fishing in the region. A giant oceanic manta getting friendly with our photo identification team off the coast of Ecuador.Ĭopyright: Andrea Marshall The prevalence of fishing line entanglements
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