Is 2011 the Best Manta Ray Season Maldives has Seen in Years?

Manta rays are often photographed swimming close to scuba divers

Over the past few months, we have been swamped with reports of manta ray sightings in the Maldives, with overjoyed divers and dive guides agreeing that it has been a bumper year for manta lovers. Many of our boats, such as Theia and MV Aquarius, have responded by launching special “Manta Madness” cruises, which take guests to the best Manta spots of the Maldives.

“It seems that thanks to numerous conservation efforts, the Maldives manta ray population is doing well these days. This is great news, especially considering that manta rays are an endangered species in most parts of the world.”

The recovery of the manta ray population in the Maldives appears to be evident in the dive logs of all of the liveaboard diving cruise ships we work with, as well as from anecdotal evidence we’ve received from crew members and guests over the past few months.

The abundance of mantas is also something observed by the Save Our Seas Foundation. Guy Stevens, the head of the foundation’s manta ray conservation project in the Maldives, recently commented: “The Maldives is the perfect place for these reef mantas; there is plenty of food all year round, there are few natural predators, and most importantly in today’s world of human exploitation, there has never been a significant or commercial fisheries for manta rays in the Maldives.” To read the whole interview, click here.

Best Time to See Manta Rays in the Maldives

Traditionally, the summer months offer the best chances for diving or snorkeling with manta rays in the Maldives. This is because of the higher amount of plankton in the water, which has a significant bearing on the manta ray migration in the Maldives. A manta ray diet consists mainly of plankton and the prevailing winds and currents of the hot Maldivian summer can create such a high concentration of food in certain places that a manta ray feeding frenzy ensues.

Watch this thrilling video of an underwater expedition amongst several manta rays in the Maldives

One of the most famous places where so-called manta ray cyclone feeding can occur, is the now legendary Hanifaru Bay, a dive spot made famous by a breathtaking photo reportage published by the National Geographic in 2009.

Especially in August, it is not uncommon to see more than a hundred animals gathering here during the Maldives manta ray season to make the most of the site’s unique geographical position, which sweeps huge amounts of plankton into the bay at certain times. This manta ray behavior is sometimes referred to as a “manta ray feeding aggregation”. The Maldives is known for the world’s largest aggregations of such nature.

Manta Ray Cleaning Stations Maldives

Another important element in the lives of these fascinating and absolutely harmless sea creatures are the many manta ray cleaning stations of the Maldives, which can attract several mantas at once. Seeing a troupe of imposing rays queue politely for their turn at the cleaning station is an absolutely unforgettable sight. Experienced dive guides such as ours know the locations of the most highly frequented feeding stations, where chances of diving with manta rays in the Maldives are the highest.

A open-mouthed manta ray approaches the camera

The manta ray cleaning stations of the Maldives are essentially rock or coral formation where manta rays stop by regularly to let cleaner wrasses pick parasites and dead skin particles off their bodies. It’s a symbiosis that is mutually beneficial – the cleaner wrasses get a steady delivery of food, while the manta rays have better chances of avoiding skin irritations and potentially dangerous infections caused by parasites.

Responsible Tourism in the Maldives – An Economic Necessity

While it seems that mantas in the Maldives are adept at taking care of themselves in terms of food and skincare, they need our help to protect their habitats from the negative impacts of human activity around them.

Their playful behavior and seeming indifference – even curiosity – for human visitors is remarkable and plays a big part in the tourism industry of the Maldives. The question is: how to balance economic development and mass tourism with the protection of the manta ray habitats of the Maldives?

The answer lies in a responsible approach to economic opportunities. Unlike commonly assumed, tourism can play a vital role in conservation efforts. The logic is simple – the manta ray population Maldives is of crucial importance to the economy and, as such, must be protected.

Stevens explains: “The more people who visit the Maldives in search of an encounter with manta rays the better; tourism really is important for the long term survival of manta rays in the Maldives and elsewhere around the world. However, tourism needs to be managed so that it is truly sustainable. As specific sites, such as Hanifaru, become overwhelmed with tourists there is a growing need for effective management to ensure that this site does not become degraded.”

Close-up shot of a manta ray in Maldives

The great challenge that lies ahead is to find a solution on how to manage sensitive manta ray feeding sites and how to enforce existing laws. The wheels of policy and bureaucracy have been notoriously slow in the Republic of the Maldives over the last decades. However, the new government’s commitment to environmental issues provides hope for responsible tour operators and scuba divers alike.

As always, Maldives Dive Travel is fully supportive of marine conservation efforts in the Maldives. We do our best to educate our staff and guests about the importance of responsible diving. It is our aim to help ensure that the magnificent marine life of the Maldives remains as breathtakingly beautiful as it is now for the next generations of scuba divers.

Want to experience the thrill of diving with manta rays in the Maldives? Our experienced booking agents and dive guides are at your service.

Contact us now to get the best deals on diving holidays in the Maldives.

About us: Maldives Dive Travel looks back on more than 15 years of excellence and our Best Price Guarantee ensures that you get the best rates available anywhere!

MALE, Maldives, July 20, 2010.  Maldives Dive Travel Facebook fans have been jumping on board throughout the last year and there are now 5,080 as of July 20. As the leading provider of liveaboard scuba diving holidays in the Maldives, Maldives Dive Travel’s position as one of the most popular Maldives-related Facebook pages demonstrates the company’s success as a tourism company in the area.

Maldives Dive Travel Offers Luxury Liveaboard Dive Safaris

Maldives Dive Travel’s presence on Facebook began in 2009 and has been expanding rapidly “This has been an incredible year,” said Mona Sutherland, PR Manager for Maldives Dive Travel. “We are so excited about the number of people who are interested in Maldives Dive Travel!”

One of the reasons for Maldives Dive Travel’s success, both on and off Facebook, is the Best Price Guarantee.  Thanks to the volume of scuba diving holidays managed by Maldives Dive Travel, they are able to offer the most competitive prices in the industry and in case a customer finds a better deal out there with another provider, Maldives Dive Travel will beat that price.  Customers just need to send in proof of the quote from the competitor.

The Stunning Beaches are a Major Attraction of the Maldives

Maldives Dive Travel’s presence on Facebook seeks to introduce people to the stunning beauty of the Maldives, to the vacation opportunities that exist there and to spread the word about this world-class scuba diving destination.  The company uses the Facebook page to let friends know about upcoming special offers, interesting happenings and to share high-quality photos and videos, which serve to further interest the user in a diving holiday in the Maldives.

At present, Maldives Dive Travel is promoting a series of special whale shark diving trips that are happening this summer.  The routes of these diving safaris are planned to coincide with the movement patterns of the amazing whale shark, allowing divers the opportunity to jump in and swim with the majestic creatures between their dives.  The Maldives is one of the few destinations in the world where you have good chances of seeing a whale shark year-round.

Whale Shark Trips are Popular in the Maldives

The other big draw of diving in the Maldives at the moment is the amazing “manta ray feeding frenzy” which occurs between July and September in Hanifaru Bay each year.  The phenomenon was featured in National Geographic magazine last year and has since been attracting many keen divers who are curious to see the enormous manta rays in this fascinating performance.

Maldives Dive Travel is a travel agent offering scuba diving liveaboard holidays in the Maldives.  For information and updates go to maldivesdivetravel.com or visit the Facebook page.

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Diving Videos from Hanifaru

To coincide with our newly announced Hanifaru Bay Scuba Safaris, the following are a number of videos taken by people scuba diving in Hanifaru Bay, Baa Atoll in the Maldives.  You will notice an incredible number of manta rays that gather here to feed on the masses of plankton.  The best time of year to see this spectacle is from July to September, so don’t miss out on our limited number of dive safaris.

Contact Maldives Dive Travel Today for More Information about Hanifaru!

Feeding Frenzy: Manta Rays in the Maldives from National Geographic

Save Our Seas – Manta Rays of the Maldives

Atoll Ecosystem Conservation Project (Maldives) Footage of Hanifaru Bay

Watch scuba diving videos from the beautiful Maldives!

The Maldives is one of the world’s premier destinations for scuba diving.

Not only can scuba divers observe thousands of different species of reef fish while exploring the world underwater, but the Maldives is home to much bigger species, including the manta ray, whale shark, grey reef shark, napoleon wrasse and barracuda.

Hanifaru Bay, a marine protected uninhabited island located in the Baa Atoll, is now one of the hottest spots on the planet for underwater photographers since becoming the world’s largest Manta Ray feeding destination. Read more about the Hanifaru Bay phenomenon here!

Scuba diving in the Maldives is an exciting experience, just remember to keep the camera steady and enjoy your underwater experience!

Maldives Scuba Diving Videos

Grey Reef Shark at Makaru Thila

Beautiful video footage taken of a Grey Reef Shark swimming around the reef at Makaru Thila dive site in the Maldives. In the video, the Reef Shark is seen swimming through a nice variety of colourful reef fish.

Giant Manta Ray in North Male Atoll

Awesome close up of a giant manta ray shot in North Male Atoll, Maldives in a dive site known as Manta Point.

Snorkeling with Whale Shark in the Maldives

A group of snorkelers and divers hovering and swimming with a majestic whale shark in Maamigili dive site located at the South Ari Atoll in the Maldives.

Moray Eel at Cocoa Thila in the Maldives

A few scuba divers follow a moray eel at cocoa thila in the Maldives. This dive site is in the south Male atoll near the capital island. The eel is a fine specimen of the beautiful colored eels that are prevalent in the Maldives.

Large Sea Turtle Glides Through the Water in the Maldives

While scuba diving in the Maldives you can often see pacific green sea turtles swimming against the clear blue waters, descending down over the coral reef.

Check out more Maldives Scuba Diving Videos here!

Guests aboard the Black Pearl liveaboard spot grey reef sharks and eagle rays at Guraidhoo Kandu

With the beginning of the North East Monsoon transition period, manta rays are becoming less frequent at the Lankan Manta Point cleaning station.

The Lankan Manta Point (of the North Male’ Atoll) manta ray season begins in early September and lasts until late November or early December.

Manta Ray at Manta Point in the Maldives

Lankan Manta Point Dive

Black Pearl liveaboard dived at Lankan Manta Point for the first time this week. However, no manta rays were spotted, so the divers enjoyed the colorful Maldivian coral and selection of other reef fish that darted along the sandy ocean floor. Read about the Black Pearl’s sighting of a school of mobula rays!

Black Pearl liveaboard plans to cover South Male’ and Ari Atoll this week.

Kuda Giri Wreck and Guraidhoo Kandu Dive

After the dive at Lankan Manta Point, the Black Pearl liveaboard crossed Vaadhoo channel and arrived at the Kuda Giri Wreck for the day’s second dive. The day’s third dive took place at Guraidhoo Kandu.

With an incoming mild current, all divers saw 8 grey reef sharks, a school of 12 eagle rays and loads of white tip reef sharks.

Black Pearl live aboard will be sailing to South Ari Atoll today.

by Matt Walker Editor, BBC Earth News

The once secret life of a huge, recently discovered species of manta ray has been unveiled.

Biologist Dr Andrea Marshall has discovered that the giant fish, which she first described as new to science last year, undertakes huge journeys.

As well as making the longest migration known across the Indian Ocean, the fish gathers in large numbers to feed and survives attacks by sharks.

The behavior is revealed in the BBC documentary series Natural World.

Growing up to 7m wide, manta rays are the largest living ray in the ocean and one of the largest of all fish.

Previously, it was thought there was just one species of manta ray, known by the scientific name Manta birostris.

But the more Dr Marshall swam with them, the more she noticed how different manta rays that frequent reefs and the open ocean are, both in their behavior and markings.

Mantas evolved from sting rays, and it was thought they had lost their sting. But Dr Marshall has found that the larger ocean-going mantas have retained a vestigial sting on their tails, proving that the two are separate species.

In July last year, she announced the discovery that there are not one but two species of manta ray at the American Elasmobranch Society’s annual conference in Montreal, Canada.

Manta Ray

The larger giant mantas retain the name Manta birostris, while the reef-going mantas have been newly named Manta alfredi, in tribute to Alfred Whitley who first scientifically described manta rays in the 1930s.

However, Dr Marshall’s studies have uniquely revealed a host of manta ray behaviors.

The rays sometimes swim across the ocean floor, skimming the reefs with their mouths, a behavior filmed by the camera crew for the first time.

Usually the fish feed on plankton, but what they feed on when skimming is unclear.

Dr Marshall studies manta rays off the coast of Tofo in southern Mozambique.

It was always thought that manta rays stayed in shallow waters.

Manta ray mating behavior

But Dr Marshall has discovered that the larger giant species of manta ray dives deeply, and migrates 700 miles (1,100km) in just 60 days to the Maldives, the longest migration known for a fish living in the Indian Ocean.

In the Maldives, researchers have also uncovered a unique gathering place of reef mantas, where hundreds of the fish gather.

Around 80% of the fish are female, with many pregnant, suggesting the area is a critical breeding site for the species.

Studies by Dr Marshall and colleague Dr Simon Pierce of the Manta Ray and Whale Shark Research Centre based at Tofo Beach in southern Mozambique have also revealed that manta rays living off Tofo bear huge scars inflicted by large sharks.

Mysterious giants

Manta rays appear capable of surviving such attacks and will queue up to have their wounds tended by cleaner fish, which nibble at the wound to remove dead tissue and prevent infection.

Dr Marshall’s studies have also revealed new aspects to the fishes’ reproduction.

Many male mantas follow a single female, mirroring her behavior in a bid to attract her as a mate.

Females, which give birth to a single pup after a 12-month gestation, rarely give birth in consecutive years, Dr Marshall has found.

That extremely slow reproduction could place the fish in danger from overfishing, both for subsistence and for export to be used in traditional Chinese medicines.

Black Pearl Dives at Lankan Manta Point of the North Male Atoll

The Black Pearl live aboard continues its scuba diving adventures in the Maldives!

Lankan Manta Point, North Male’ Atoll

Black Pearl live aboard diving started from North Male’ Atoll at Lankan Manta Point. With a mild current and visibility of 10 meters, divers from the Black Pearl observed 3 mantas at the cleaning station during the entire dive.

Kuda Giri Wreck, South Male’ Atoll

After Lankan Manta Point, the Black Pearl live aboard cruised to South Male’ Atoll and dived at Kuda Giri Wreck. With almost no current at all, divers got the chance to explore the wreck without much difficulty.

Manta Ray over Coral in the Maldives

Guaraidhoo Region

For final anchorage, the Black Pearl live aboard was around the Guraidhoo region and will be crossing over to the South Ari Atoll today.

Maldives Weather

This week began with clear, sunny skies…Holidaying and scuba diving conditions have remained perfect!

For present weather in Maldives and a 5 day weather forecast, click here.

Weather: Apart from a few showers in the upper north province, generally favorable weather is expected to prevail over the country.

Temperature: 30° C / 86° F

Humidity: 63 %

Winds: West / north-westerly 4 – 11 knots.

Visibility: 12 km

State of the sea: Slight

Wave Height: (open sea) 1 – 3 feet

The Black Pearl liveaboard explores the Kandooma Thila, Vaagali Thila & Medhu Faru dive sites in the Maldives…

The Black Pearl Liveaboard, one of the Maldives’ finest scuba diving vessels, concludes yet another successful week of adventurous scuba diving and fun in the sun!

Kandooma Thila Dive Site

Kandooma Thila is one of the most renowned dive sites in the South Male / Guraidhoo region.  Kandooma Thila features healthy coral growth and an abundance of fish life with the right currents.

With around 10 to 12 meters visibility, the dive at  Kandooma Thila turned out to be a fantastic dive. The divers had the chance to swim with grey reef sharks, white tip reef sharks and, of course, schooling jacks at Jack’s Corner.

Vaagali Thila Dive Site

The Black Pearl Liveaboard‘s second dive was to Vaagali Thila. Vaagali Thila is located southeast of Vaagali, an uninhabited island, and is the perfect dive site for spotting sharks, manta rays, eagle rays, fusiliers and jackfish. Furthermore, schooling snappers are often seen at Vaagali Thila as well.

Medhu Faru Dive Site

The Black Pearl Liveaboard‘s third and last dive of the day was to Medhu Faru, located south of Guraidhoo Island. Medhu Faru offered an easy, relaxing dive where white tip sharks and napoleon wrasse were the highlights.

Second Dive at Kandooma Thila

The Black Pearl Liveaboard ends the week in South Male’ Atoll, with another dive to Kandooma Thila, which ended up being a superb choice.  The current conditions were really good with a medium-strong current. Highlights at Kandooma Thila included white tip sharks, grey reef sharks and, to our delight, a mobula, also called a devil fish

Mobula, or Devil Fish

Mobula, also called devil fish, is a genus of ray in the family Myliobatidae (eagle rays). The appearance of a mobula is similar to that of manta rays, which are in the same family. The devil fish can attain a disc width of up to 5.2 meters (17 feet) and tip the scales at over a ton. The mobula is second only to the manta in size. Despite their size, the mobula remains one of the lesser-known ray species.

Mobula rays in the Gulf of California (Sea of Cortez) have been reported to breach as high as 2 metres above the sea.

A mobula breaches, or jumps out of the water

Black Pearl Liveaboard Concludes Another Week of Diving

The Black Pearl Liveaboard will leave their guests at the airport  and resume diving on Monday morning.

The dive safari route of the Black Pearl liveaboard changed slightly due to the Maldives’ North East Monsoon…

The Black Pearl liveaboard left Male’ this week planning to embark upon the classic Maldivian dive safari route that includes the South and North Male’ Atolls and the Ari Atoll. However, plans were changed due to the weather in the Maldives.

Black Pearl Liveaboard Route Changes Due to Weather

The Black Pearl liveaboard is currently anchored at the North Male’ Atoll at Himmafushi Lagoon. Although the initial dive safari route was changed, two exciting dives were performed at Lankan Manta Point! Learn more about Maldives dive sites here!

Scuba Diving at Lankan Manta Point, North Male’ Atoll

Although the surface conditions were a bit rough, both dives at Lankan Manta Point turned out to be excellent. On the first dive, scuba divers spotted four manta rays and a leopard shark. On the second dive, scuba divers spotted three big, beautiful manta rays.

Current weather conditions in the Maldives: isolated showers every now and then, gusty winds and rough seas at time.

The Black Pearl liveaboard plans to move to South Male’ Atoll, more specifically the Guraidhoo Kandu Dive Site tomorrow.

Get a GREAT Last Minute Deal for Hanifaru Safari on the MV Orion!

***CLICK HERE TO BOOK THIS LIMITED TIME OFFER NOW!***

MV Orion, a brand new, luxurious liveaboard ready to chauffeur divers from around the world to the Maldives’ most sought after dive sites, is scheduled for two diving cruises to Hanifaru in the Baa Atoll.

MV Orion Liveaboard

The Hanifaru dive site was featured in the July issue of National Geographic magazine in an article titled “Feeding Frenzy – Manta Rays of the Maldives,” by Save Our Seas Foundation Chief Photographer Thomas P. Peschak.

Hanifaru Safari Dates

Hurry and sign up now! Space is limited and availability is going fast. The two Hanifaru diving cruises are scheduled for:

• October 5 through 12
• October 19 through 26

The diving cruise begins and terminates in Male, the Maldivian capital.

Hanifaru Safari Price

This unique opportunity is priced to please, at just USD$1554 per week per diver.

Please contact us for bookings and more information at http://www.maldivesdivetravel.com/contact_us