Annual report 2020

There’s no getting around the fact that 2020 has been the most challenging year in MMF’s history. Borders were slammed shut, in some cases trapping our staff on the ‘wrong side’. We lost donors as the global economic crisis mounted. We had to intensely restrict or suspend many of our ongoing research and conservation projects. Planned collaborations, fieldwork, and fundraising events couldn’t go forward. It’s been really, really tough.

That said, we’ve been immensely proud and inspired by the way the whole MMF team managed to adapt to the ever-evolving “new normal” in 2020. From helping remote Mozambican fishing communities get access to hand sanitizer, to Zoom becoming a noun, we’ve all had to adjust to the realities of life during a global pandemic. While it did slow us down, it by no means stopped MMF from working towards our core goal: saving ocean giants from extinction.

A highlight was the progress that MMF continued to make in Mozambique. In a country that is logistically challenging at the best of times, the supply chain was further disrupted, our partners in the ecotourism industry had to close, and the Bazaruto Archipelago National Park itself shut for a period. Whenever they could, though, the MMF team was still out doing scientific surveys and community work to the fullest extent possible. Almost 3,000 children have now learned from MMF’s marine conservation curriculum, working with 9 schools since 2012, and we’ve taught almost 1,000 children how to swim and be safe in the water over that period.

Our extensive scientific work and partnership-building efforts in Mozambique also resulted in some big, tangible wins in 2020. We celebrated the withdrawal of a major proposed oil and gas project that would have affected the Bazaruto Seascape. Our data was also used to support the designation of an Important Marine Mammal Area in the Inhambane Province. A huge result for us was the passing of national REPMAR legislation, providing full legal protection to both manta rays and whale sharks. That’s something we’ve been working towards since MMF was just the two of us arguing in a grass shack at the beach. There is huge momentum for marine conservation in the country now, and we are so proud to be helping to motivate and support Mozambique’s transition towards a sustainable blue economy.

Internationally, the new MMF-led global conservation assessment for giant manta rays documented them as endangered, along with some of their smaller cousins. The mobulid rays, as a group, are now recognized as some of the most threatened marine animals. We will continue to focus on helping them bounce back.

While we’ve published a bunch of new scientific discoveries over the year, the best news from our science team was that three MMF-supervised research students, all studying manta rays, either submitted or were awarded their PhDs. Dr. Elitza Germanov is now back at home in Indonesia to resume her work on manta rays and plastic pollution, while Dr. Steph Venables has returned to Mozambique to lead the threatened species research program, as MMF’s work expands to include more of the endangered marine species that live along this amazing coast. Congratulations to both of you, and to almost-Dr. Rob Perryman who’ll be following soon!

Thanks so much to all of MMF’s donors, partners, and supporters for your patience and encouragement throughout this disrupted, frustrating, and at times frightening year. We literally could not do this work without you. And to our staff and volunteers: we are honored to work alongside you every single day. Even if it had to be socially distanced this year.

We’re looking forward to a better 2021, and can’t wait to share it with you.

Dr. Simon Pierce and Dr. Andrea Marshall

We work with young people to inspire future generations of Ocean Guardians

• 952New swimmers trained by MMF from 2012–20
• 2,802Mini marine conservationists through the MMF curriculum from 2012–20
• 9Schools have worked with MMF in Mozambique from 2012–20
• 9Ecotourism graduates from MMF’s Coral Reef Club Vocational Program have secured paid internships for a career in marine tourism

We conduct pioneering research on manta rays around the world

Endangered rays

Dr. Andrea Marshall reassessed the conservation status of mobulid ray species for the IUCN Red List. Sadly, all mobula are now threatened, and some (including giant mantas) are now Endangered.

• 5Tags deployed on juvenile mantas off Florida
• 3,000Mantas now identified by our Indonesian team from four areas through the country
• 4Scientific papers published