Manta rays in deep water as destructive fishing causes populations to plummet.
Manta rays are the ocean’s gentle giants, but in recent years these species have come under immense pressure.
Over three quarters of ray species in tropical and subtropical coastal waters are threatened with extinction. We must act now to help save them.
Please donate now and help protect manta rays and their precious oceans. With your help, we can give them the support they urgently need.
£95
could help buy a motorboat, allowing more teams to move quickly around the areas manta rays live.
Gurveena Ghataure/Fauna & Flora
£45
could help pay for diving gear, enabling wardens to monitor and protect these wonderful creatures.
£30
could help pay for a workshop with port authorities, so we can collaborate on bringing down the gill trade.
Koh Rong Samloem Community Fisheries (CFi) at Koh Rong Marine National Park catching illegal fishing vessel during a patrol. © Andy Ball / Fauna & Flora
£10
could help fuel a patrol boat, ensuring illegal activity isn't able to come near key manta ray areas.
What is the biggest threat to manta rays?
Destructive fishing practices are one of the greatest threats to manta rays. The ray’s slow reproductive rates make it incredibly difficult for them to bounce back from overfishing once the damage has been done.
Manta rays are increasingly frequently being targeted for their gill plates. These are now used in so-called traditional medicines, in what is thought to be a marketing ploy – no evidence has been found to suggest they were ever actually historically used in traditional medicines.
Others consider manta ray flesh a delicacy, contributing to the demand that is putting such immense pressure on their dwindling populations.
The grim surge in shark finning has been widely publicised, but less well known is how devastating destructive fishing practices are for manta rays too.
What is Fauna & Flora doing to save manta rays?
Fauna & Flora is helping to safeguard marine sites where manta rays can be found, protecting these special species and other marine creatures from the devastating impacts of destructive fishing.
But we need to step up our efforts.
Through your donations, Fauna & Flora could get the crucial funding into the field to closely monitor the gill trade and develop a comprehensive plan to combat it.
Your support could also provide us with the essential resources allowing us to safeguard crucial marine protected areas to help put an end to destructive fishing practices in key manta ray habitats.
What do Fauna & Flora need?
We urgently need the funding to help pay for staffing, boats and patrols that will allow us to carry out crucial marine operations, looking into the gill trade and developing key plans to combat it.
In addition, we need the resources to help manage and monitor marine protected areas in important manta ray habitats, keeping these vulnerable creatures safe from the devastating impacts of destructive overfishing.
Once we have these resources in place, we can take our work to protect manta rays to the next level and see these remarkable fish rebound and repopulate the ocean.
Donations are essential in getting the resources in the field to carry out marine investigations.
Why Fauna & Flora?
Fauna & Flora is one of the world’s most respected conservation organisations, working to help save our natural world for over 120 years. We have decades of experience working on marine conversation, and our marine programme has blossomed to include dozens of projects spanning the globe.
If we’re going to save manta rays, our extensive experience in marine conservation is going to prove essential in achieving our goals. Our understanding of supporting effective marine patrols, working alongside local governments and combatting illegal trade networks will prove invaluable.
Please donate now, and together we can save these special species.
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