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eManta

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North America

Name

eManta - Christine & Brendal

Location

Halifax, NS

Canada

44° 38' 14.6076" N, 63° 34' 0.822" W

See map: Google Maps

Member Type

Organization

eShark.org & Dalhousie University

Website

Bio

A CALL TO ACTION

URGENT: Manta rays and their look-alike cousins are in peril due to the alarming increase in trade of their gill rakers, skin, and other body parts. We need to determine the extent of this trade, and find out where these rays are common and where they are declining.

YOU CAN HELP! Report your observations, even if you've never seen a manta or mobulid, and contribute towards the conservation of these highly vulnerable species, in just 5 minutes.

HOW? If you have more than 200 dives in one ocean area your observations can make all the difference!

NOTE THE DEADLINE! Surveys must be submitted before August 31, 2012.

SPREAD THE WORD! Send the survey link (https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/3FJ5J9B) to other divers, dive companies and organizations around the world.

IMPORTANT!! The survey will be available starting this Friday, June 15th.

My Blog Entries

Submitted by eManta on Aug. 01/12

Good survey coverage so far!!!

The majority of our surveys cover eastern Australia, Maldives, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Gulf of Mexico, Bahamas and Red Sea - hitting most of the hotspots!! Now onto the areas where manta and devil rays are more rare - the zeros!... the difficult part of a 'global distribution'.

Submitted by eManta on Jul. 21/12

Surpassed 200 surveys!

I've just gone through all the responses and personal comments and they are all great and thoughtful! The downside of not asking for personal information is that I can't thank all the particpants personally. So, I have to do it publicly - THANK YOU!

Submitted by eManta on Jul. 15/12

eManta - PA newsletter explains why it's important & why the short deadline

Project AWARE just posted a "Manta Rays at Risk" on their website & newsletter. It explains the current plight of manta & devil rays, and asks for support in getting them protected at the next CITES meeting. This short article article succintly explains why we are doing the eManta project (eShark.org), why observations and data from divers are so important and why we have such a short deadline - the next CITES meeting!

Submitted by eManta on Jun. 19/12

eManta - Christine & Brendal

eManta Day 2 summary: 95 surveys completed, 35 cells, covering the 1980's, 1990's and 2000's! Up to 6000 dives per cell! So far, most cells do not have directed manta ecotourism, protections from fishing. Although most people reported seeing zero or one manta ray, we do have up to 240 individuals reported for one cell at one time. This is a fantastic start!