Abstract:
The popularity of marine tourism has increased steadily over recent decades and is considered more
sustainable than consumptive use of marine megafauna. The seasonal migration of manta rays to
Republic of Maldives has resulted in a significant increase in the number of tourists participating in
manta-related activities. Heavy site use has led to observations of disturbance that has the potential
to cause detrimental impacts to manta rays health and behaviour. This increase in tourism pressure
and possible detrimental impacts indicates investigation into human interactions with manta rays
should be conducted.
Video footage of interactions between humans and manta rays were filmed at cleaning and feeding
stations within Baa Atoll, Maldives. A total of 263 unique interactions of both divers and snorkelers
were filmed and analysed for a number of variable including interaction type and the response
elicited from manta rays. Humans exhibited behaviours such as following, intentional touching,
diving under and passive observations. Manta rays reacted to interactions with response behaviours
such as avoidance, flight, course re-direction and no response.
The findings suggest that human behaviours are largely passive and cause relatively little disturbance
to manta rays natural behaviour. A number of minor and major disturbance behaviours can be
addressed by initiating the use of a code of conduct by tourism operators. A precautionary approach
to managing manta ray tourism must be taken in order to prevent tourism on larger scales causing
disturbance and potentially affecting the long term health of the manta ray population. At current
levels of tourism, in-water encounters appear to be sustainable and provide a significant source of
revenue without long term detrimental impacts to manta rays
