![]() ![]() They discovered an even greater increase in ray populations in South East Misool, from 210 to 511 individuals - a 10.7 per cent compound annual increase. Not to mention the newborns and juveniles living in the Wayag Lagoon and Fam Islands nursery areas we discovered recently.Įdy Setyawan, researcher, University of Auckland In the past three years, we have identified more than 300 new manta rays. They determined the resident population in Dampier Strait had increased from 226 rays in 2009 to 317 in 2019 (a 3.9 per cent compound annual increase). With this model, they estimated the number of resident reef mantas and annual population growth rates in each MPA between 20.Įdy’s team identified 1,041 individual reef manta rays from the photographs from Dampier Strait and South East Misool. They identified individual rays in photographs and put the data into a mathematical population model that accounted for repeat visits from the same manta rays and the transitory nature of this highly migratory species. Edy and his colleagues assessed the accuracy of those reports by quantifying reef manta population trends in the Dampier Strait and South East Misool, the two Raja Ampat MPAs where they had the most ray survey data. Two years later, the Indonesian government declared the reef and giant manta rays nationally protected species.Īnecdotal reports indicated these conservation efforts had shielded Raja Ampat’s reef mantas from fishing. In 2012, the area was announced as Southeast Asia’s first shark and ray sanctuary. ![]() Ray conservation efforts in Raja Ampat began in earnest in 2007, when the local government and other stakeholders began to implement a series of marine protected areas (MPAs) across the islands. A new study led by University of Auckland doctoral candidate Edy Setyawan heralds more good news for Indonesia’s manta rays and highlights how the country’s conservation efforts have established a safe haven for reef and giant manta rays ( Mobula birostris) in the Raja Ampat Islands. In May 2022, researchers announced they had identified an aggregation of nearly 1,100 reef manta rays in Komodo National Park, likely catapulting the park’s waters into the list of top locations for mantas in the world. But a new study of reef manta rays in eastern Indonesia’s Raja Ampat archipelago, combined with an exciting discovery from Komodo National Park further west earlier this year, suggests reef mantas are following a different - and more encouraging - trajectory in the Southeast Asian country’s waters. Ocean-dwelling sharks and rays, including the majestic reef manta ray ( Mobula alfredi), have declined globally by an estimated 71 per cent since 1970 due to fishing. ![]()
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