[Music]
my name is tompa Jacque and I’m the
chief photographer for the save our seas
foundation I recently photographed a
story for National Geographic magazine
on manta rays
I traveled halfway across the world to
the Maldives a group of islands situated
400 miles south of India
my final destination was honey for a
small uninhabited island in the remote
northern part on the site of the world’s
largest major a feeding education the
key to success was to reach the island
from the southwest monsoon was blowing
at its peak this is when the surrounding
seas become the most productive in the
Maldives and up world nutrients and
Sunnat explode into a rich phytoplankton
soup despite their enormous size manta
rays are filter feeders that prey
exclusively on small Clack tonic animals
currents and tides wash swarms of krill
into hanifaru bay setting the stage for
a feast that attracts giants from all
corners of the Maltese at any one time
up to 200 manta rays and half a dozen
whale sharks feast together on
zooplankton in area smaller than a
football field
photographing his feeding frenzy was an
incredible experience and the sheer
number of rains around me was simply
overwhelming with mantle wings tails and
cephalic lobes enveloping me from all
sides I was able to photograph new manta
ray behaviors that were only recently
discovered by guy Stevens a marine
biologist funded by the save our seas
foundation who discovered honey Faro and
now studies this site
Cyclone feeding is without doubt the
most dramatic of all manta ray behaviors
it occurs when a train of manta rays
exceeds 50 animals and the tail end
links up with the head resulting in a
spiraling twisting wart ex of manta rays
however this expertly choreographed ray
ballet can quickly turn into the
ultimate Manta train wreck with hundreds
of manta rays crashing into each other
left right and center now getting right
into the middle of a chaos feeding group
was probably the most dangerous part of
this assignment
now mantas are Placid non aggressive
creatures but in this context they seem
to temporarily lose all sense of
coordination more than once I thought I
was going to be knocked unconscious by
one of these one-time Giants but much
too the mantas credit I only had one
minor collision and a few nervousness
despite having only been recently
discovered honey Faro and it’s mantas
are already under threat tourist boats
and too many divers and snorkelers can
disrupt the feeding activities and in
the long run possibly even displace the
mantas and whale sharks from this
important foraging ground of course
tourism is a much better alternative to
killing manta rays for the gill rakers
and fins as they have a slow
reproductive rate and are very
vulnerable to overfishing and extinction
so if managed correctly anaphoras
newfound popularity with international
visitors could give mantas long-term
protection by providing a strong
economic incentive to conserve rather
than to hunt them much to my delight on
June 8th 2009 World Oceans Day the
Environment Minister of the Maldives
Mohammed Aslam announced that Hani Farah
would become a marine protected area
with fishing and boating restricted and
diving and snorkeling subject to strict
controls I am really thrilled that the
Maldivian government has had the
foresight to recognize the importance of
this unique site I’m also very excited
by the recent news that the save our
seas foundation will be donating a
patrol boat to police the Marine Reserve
it is my sincere hope that honey fall
will always remain a sanctuary for these
cyclone feeding manta rays and whale
sharks and be a place where people from
all over the world come to experience
and gain an appreciation for these
majestic rays I just hope that they will
tread lightly and that bah at all will
become a world leader in sustainable
marine wildlife tourism
[Music]
you
my name is tompa Jacque and I’m the
chief photographer for the save our seas
foundation I recently photographed a
story for National Geographic magazine
on manta rays
I traveled halfway across the world to
the Maldives a group of islands situated
400 miles south of India
my final destination was honey for a
small uninhabited island in the remote
northern part on the site of the world’s
largest major a feeding education the
key to success was to reach the island
from the southwest monsoon was blowing
at its peak this is when the surrounding
seas become the most productive in the
Maldives and up world nutrients and
Sunnat explode into a rich phytoplankton
soup despite their enormous size manta
rays are filter feeders that prey
exclusively on small Clack tonic animals
currents and tides wash swarms of krill
into hanifaru bay setting the stage for
a feast that attracts giants from all
corners of the Maltese at any one time
up to 200 manta rays and half a dozen
whale sharks feast together on
zooplankton in area smaller than a
football field
photographing his feeding frenzy was an
incredible experience and the sheer
number of rains around me was simply
overwhelming with mantle wings tails and
cephalic lobes enveloping me from all
sides I was able to photograph new manta
ray behaviors that were only recently
discovered by guy Stevens a marine
biologist funded by the save our seas
foundation who discovered honey Faro and
now studies this site
Cyclone feeding is without doubt the
most dramatic of all manta ray behaviors
it occurs when a train of manta rays
exceeds 50 animals and the tail end
links up with the head resulting in a
spiraling twisting wart ex of manta rays
however this expertly choreographed ray
ballet can quickly turn into the
ultimate Manta train wreck with hundreds
of manta rays crashing into each other
left right and center now getting right
into the middle of a chaos feeding group
was probably the most dangerous part of
this assignment
now mantas are Placid non aggressive
creatures but in this context they seem
to temporarily lose all sense of
coordination more than once I thought I
was going to be knocked unconscious by
one of these one-time Giants but much
too the mantas credit I only had one
minor collision and a few nervousness
despite having only been recently
discovered honey Faro and it’s mantas
are already under threat tourist boats
and too many divers and snorkelers can
disrupt the feeding activities and in
the long run possibly even displace the
mantas and whale sharks from this
important foraging ground of course
tourism is a much better alternative to
killing manta rays for the gill rakers
and fins as they have a slow
reproductive rate and are very
vulnerable to overfishing and extinction
so if managed correctly anaphoras
newfound popularity with international
visitors could give mantas long-term
protection by providing a strong
economic incentive to conserve rather
than to hunt them much to my delight on
June 8th 2009 World Oceans Day the
Environment Minister of the Maldives
Mohammed Aslam announced that Hani Farah
would become a marine protected area
with fishing and boating restricted and
diving and snorkeling subject to strict
controls I am really thrilled that the
Maldivian government has had the
foresight to recognize the importance of
this unique site I’m also very excited
by the recent news that the save our
seas foundation will be donating a
patrol boat to police the Marine Reserve
it is my sincere hope that honey fall
will always remain a sanctuary for these
cyclone feeding manta rays and whale
sharks and be a place where people from
all over the world come to experience
and gain an appreciation for these
majestic rays I just hope that they will
tread lightly and that bah at all will
become a world leader in sustainable
marine wildlife tourism
[Music]
you
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