The Foundation for the Protection of Marine Megafauna (FPMM) was created in 2009 to research, protect and conserve the large populations of marine megafauna found along the Mozambican coastline. ‘Megafauna’ are large marine species such as sharks, rays, marine mammals and turtles. These animals are key components of marine ecosystems but, as they are long-lived and have low reproductive rates, their populations are usually the first to be reduced by human pressures. Fortunately, they are also amongst the most charismatic animals on the planet and engender a high degree of public interest in their biology and conservation, making them useful ambassadors for the whole marine environment. The Manta Ray & Whale Shark Research Centre is based at Tofo Beach, Mozambique, at Casa Barry Lodge. Tofo Beach is a major international hot-spot for both manta rays and whale sharks. The Research Centre works with sponsors, international scientific collaborators, the marine tourism industry, conservation organisations and the Mozambican government to identify and solve the problems that manta rays and whale sharks face in Mozambique and worldwide.
You can find our latest research updates and news and information about our sponsors on this site. There’s plenty of reading material here – and lots more to come during 2009 and 2010 – so stay for a while, have a look at the photos and learn how you can get involved with researching and protecting the biggest fishes on the planet. You can even adopt your very own manta ray or whale shark! We hope you enjoy the site and, most importantly, learn something new about these huge, friendly fish. We are firm believers that scientific results are most effective when people actually know about them. In keeping with that philosophy, you can find more details on our education and media work on this site too.
Click here for a complete PDF detailing who we are, where we are, and what our goals are.
Andrea Marshall
Dr. Andrea Marshall has been living in Mozambique since 2003. Her PhD research on the population ecology of manta rays, conducted through the University of Queensland, was the first ever doctoral thesis to be completed on these enigmatic animals. Educated in the United States (University of California Santa Barbara) and Australia (University of Queensland), Andrea now lives permanently in Africa. After finishing her thesis, Andrea stayed on to spearhead the conservation efforts of manta rays in Mozambique and form the Foundation for the Protection of Marine Megafauna.
Andrea’s world-leading manta ray research program (which has examined aspects of their biology, reproductive ecology, habitat use and social behaviour) has dramatically increasing the level of knowledge on manta rays. Her recent discovery of a new giant species of manta ray in 2008 was one of the largest new species to have been described by any scientist in the last 50 years. Andrea was also the senior author on the first worldwide conservation assessment for manta rays for the IUCN and continues to contribute to conservation efforts worldwide. Her current projects include topics ranging from systematics, phylogeography, population genetics, habitat use and migratory movements.
Andrea is also a semi-professional underwater photographer and is passionate about marine education, using her photography as a tool to inspire children and scuba divers alike. A diver since the age of twelve, Andrea has spent countless hours underwater and is especially fond of both exploratory diving and using her re-breather to have close encounters with elusive marine species. Topping her list of best all time locations to dive are Cocos Island, the Maldives, Papua New Guinea, San Benedicto and of course, Southern Mozambique. In 2009, BBC christened her the ‘Queen of Mantas’ honouring Andrea and her work in a documentary that is currently showing worldwide.
Simon Pierce
Dr. Simon Pierce first arrived in Mozambique in 2005. At the time, he’d never even seen a whale shark and thought that he would probably be ambushed by lions as he disembarked from the plane. The first issue was corrected on his very first day on the ocean in Mozambique; the second remains an ongoing threat (though they are admittedly absent from most airfields).
Simon’s whale shark research focuses on population ecology and conservation management. The Tofo region is an important feeding area for these huge fishes, and Simon has personally identified around 20% of the known world population of the species. His current research on the sharks examines population abundance and long-term trends, threat assessment and mitigation, and their movement patterns and the implications for protected area design. With PhD student, Chris Rohner from The University of Queensland, he is researching whale shark feeding ecology and the biological oceanography of the region. He is also working closely with the local tourism industry to ensure a high-quality, sustainable whale shark experience for visitors to the region, and is working to evaluate the potential impacts of tourism on the sharks with MSc student Pete Haskell from the University of Exeter in the UK.
Aside from whale sharks, Simon is also working on conservation biology projects focusing on threatened marine species including sharks, rays, sea turtles and some large fish species. His overall research goal is to bridge the gap that often exists between scientists and managers. To do this, he is using a variety of cutting-edge quantitative techniques to answer the most important contemporary conservation questions while also developing predictive methods to design effective long-term monitoring and management strategies. When he’s not obsessing about those topics, Simon can generally be found surfing, snorkeling or off in the jungle somewhere. He has a BSc in Ecology from Victoria University of Wellington in his native New Zealand, a first-class Honours degree in biomechanics and PhD in the conservation biology and fishery management of sharks and rays from The University of Queensland in Australia. He currently works as a Lead Scientist for FPMM, the Executive Director of Eyes on the Horizon and as an Associate Researcher with the All Out Africa Research Unit.
Chris Rohner
Chris is the Foundation’s first PhD student enrolled in conjunction with the University of Queensland (UQ) and CSIRO Australia. Chris was born and raised in Switzerland, but left his home for Australia to study Marine Biology at the University of Queensland. During his undergraduate degree, he did some research on the diet of Australian sharpnose sharks (Rhizoprionodon taylori) and on carry-over stress effects between stages of invertebrate larvae. He then conducted his honours degree in Tom Cribb’s Marine Parasitology Lab investigating opecoelid (flatworm) parasites in the goatfishes of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef (GBR). His research year was a success as he could find and describe several new species of opecoelid parasites. To this day, Chris is very fond of goatfishes and, lucky for him, there are plenty of those interesting reef fish around Tofo’s reefs.
After taking a break from Uni and working at UQ’s Heron Island Research Station and doing electrofishing surveys for the Queensland Government, he was up for a new challange; a path that led him to Tofo. Chris will be working here towards his PhD by investigating how environmental parameters affect whale shark abundance and their feeding ecology. To do so, he is taking an interdisciplinary approach combining plankton sampling with remote sensing and whale shark ecology work. Dr. Anthony Richardson, a renowned plankton expert from CSIRO Australia and UQ, supervises his investigation of local plankton dynamics. Together, they will mainly try to find out what exactly the whale sharks and manta rays feed on here in Tofo. To examine where all the food comes from, Dr. Scarla Weeks from the University of Queensland will help Chris studying the local waters and put it all in a regional context using satellite imagery and in situ measurements of various parameters. With that, he is aiming to describe Tofo’s oceanographic setting. Chris is getting great support from UQ, CSIRO, FPMM, Casa Barry and Tofo Scuba and he will keep you up to date with the progress of his work.
