Marine Life & Conservation
Manta ID Palau Database Continues to Grow – Latest News From NECO Marine
The Etpison Museum, with sponsorship from NECO Marine and Palau Pacific Resort and also with the assistance of visiting divers and local dive guides, has been building a database called www.mantaidpalau.org to collect information on Palau’s individual mantas and how many are visiting Palau’s reefs every year.
Manta rays have black markings on their bellies that are like fingerprints which makes each individual easy to identify. So far, over 250 manta rays have been photo ID’d in Palau since 2010.
The latest additions since October 2013 have been 14 males and 2 females that have been seen around the Lighthouse, Ulong, German Channel and Babelomekang areas.
M109 Ranger was seen during a fieldtrip hosted by NECO Marine for the Koror State Rangers to do a site management and mooring buoy evaluation of the German Channel site.
F129 Madrei was the first pregnant female seen this season in January 2014, and was being chased by 9 males. Mantas often mate just after giving birth, and “courtship trains” of several males chasing a female are often seen between December and February in Palau. The female eventually will choose a male, and he will shadow her every move until they mate.
A new baby male was also found: M117 Mutok.
Manta ID Palau also encourage divers to share their photographs of mantas not shown on the database.
If you would like to learn how to identify the mantas and to position yourself underwater so not to scare them away, NECO Marine offers a PADI dive specialty course: “Manta Identification Diver Palau”, a two day course where you can find out more about Palau’s manta rays and how best to observe them. Specialty Instructor Fabio Esposito will be teaching the course, and says he would like to see all the dive guides in Palau give better briefings to their guests about the mantas, and especially how to behave around them so as not to disturb their feeding and cleaning behavior.
For more information, visit http://www.mantaidpalau.org/
The Shark Trust is excited to announce that, for two more days only, all donations, large or small, will be doubled in the Big Give Green Match Fund!
Donate to Basking in Nature: Sighting Giants
The Shark Trust is hoping to raise £10k which will be doubled to £20k. This will go towards Basking in Nature: Sighting Giants. And they need YOUR help to reach they’re goal.
The Shark Trust’s citizen science project is to monitor and assess basking sharks through sightings; encouraging data collection, community engagement, and promoting nature accessibility. This initiative aims to enhance health and wellbeing by fostering a deeper connection with British Sharks.
Campaign Aims
- Increase citizen science reporting of Basking Sharks and other shark sightings to help inform shark and ray conservation.
- Provide educational talks about the diverse range of sharks and rays in British waters and accessible identification guides!
- Create engaging and fun information panels on how to ID the amazing sharks and rays we have on our doorstep! These can be used on coastal paths around the Southwest. With activities and information on how you can make a difference for sharks and rays!
- Promote mental wellbeing through increasing time in nature and discovering the wonders beneath the waves!
Donate, and double your impact. Click Here
Marine Life & Conservation
Leading UK-based shark conservation charity, the Shark Trust, is delighted to announce tour operator Diverse Travel as a Corporate Patron
Corporate Patrons provide a valuable boost to the work of The Shark Trust. The Trust team works globally to safeguard the future of sharks, and their close cousins, the skates and rays, engaging with a global network of scientists, policymakers, conservation professionals, businesses and supporters to further shark conservation.
Specialist tour operator Diverse Travel has operated since 2014 and is committed to offering its guests high quality, sustainable scuba diving holidays worldwide. Working together with the Shark Trust will enable both organisations to widen engagement and encourage divers and snorkellers to actively get involved in shark conservation.
“Sharks are truly at the heart of every diver and at Diverse Travel, we absolutely share that passion. There is nothing like seeing a shark in the wild – it’s a moment that stays with you forever!” says Holly Bredin, Sales & Marketing Manager, Diverse Travel.
“We’re delighted to celebrate our 10th year of business by becoming a Corporate Patron of the Shark Trust. This is an exciting partnership for Diverse and our guests. We will be donating on behalf of every person who books a holiday with us to contribute towards their vital shark conservation initiatives around the world. We will also be working together with the Trust to inspire divers, snorkellers and other travellers to take an active role – at home and abroad – in citizen science projects and other activities.”
Paul Cox, CEO of The Shark Trust, said:
“It’s an exciting partnership and we’re thrilled to be working with Diverse Travel to enable more divers and travellers to get involved with sharks and shark conservation. Sharks face considerable conservation challenges but, through collaboration and collective action, we can secure a brighter future for sharks and their ocean home. This new partnership takes us one more valuable step towards that goal.”
For more information about the Shark Trust visit their website here.
For more about Diverse Travel click here.
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