[MantaReport] Manta Ray Safety

[Keller Laros]

Friday, 10-11-13, during my underwater tour on the manta ray night dive I
saw what looked like a lost dive light on the bottom.  As I approached to
retrieve the light I observed a manta ray swim through the plankton in the
beam above the light run into an un-seen obstacle.
Once I got near enough I found that a charter operator had left the light
to mark where a mooring's location in preparation for their 2nd trip.
We know it can be hard to find the moorings in the dark so I went to the
mooring to scrub in clean and hopefully make it easier to find.  On the
mooring ball itself were 2 green cylume light sticks.
I guess the light on the bottom was to keep manta rays at the site for the
second trip.
Problem is that by placing the light beside the mooring you are drawing
manta rays into the line and possibly harming the very creature you are
hoping to show your guests.
It is important that we not let our commercial operations injure the manta
rays.
Please think it through.
We've enjoyed manta rays trips since 1985 and would very much like to have
a mutually beneficial experience well into the future.
Thanks
Keller Laros
Founder
Manta Pacific Research Foundation
[image: Inline image 3][image: Inline image 4]
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