Monthly Update for July
Hello!
Many of you have joined us on our fun MMF research / dive expeditions since 2020. Well, I've just signed us up for a few more!
Following an epic trip in January this year, we've booked a 9-day dive trip in June 2025 to the Revillagigedo Archipelago (Socorro) off the Pacific coast of Mexico. Now-Dr Madalena Cabral from Pelagios Kakunjá (below) and I will be hosting this trip again, with the aim to deploy more satellite tags on oceanic manta rays for Lena's research. Learn more about the trip here – hope you can join us :D
Following that, we've organised an ultra-custom two-week Galapagos liveaboard in July 2025, and back-to-back Raja Ampat dive trips in Feb 2026. More on those expeditions soon!
I've got a short update on Andrea: she's presently recuperating from a successful cranial operation, and her family has moved to a home that is specially catered for her during her recovery. We're not anticipating her being able to resume MMF work in the forseeable future, but she's getting great support and care in Florida. Thanks for all the kind thoughts and prayers on her behalf.
It's summer in the northern hemisphere, while I'm jealous (and freezing) in the south. It's fantastic to see all the awesome fieldwork going on – the Florida Manta Project is nearing 200 identified manta rays, Clare hosted a very successful MMF / Aqua-Firma dive trip in the Galapagos islands, and it's manta courtship season in Indonesia. Lots happening, as usual…
As ever, if you've got any questions, or want to find out how you can support this amazing work, just hit reply. In particular, if your business (or one you know) would like to set up a corporate partnership, we'd LOVE to talk with you. Thanks for your support!
Simon J Pierce, PhD
MMF Co-founder, Executive Director
MMF Mozambique
World Mangrove Day
On World Mangrove Day (26th July), it's important to reflect on the significant loss of these forests in the country. However, there is a collective effort towards recovery and preservation. Governments, NGOs, and communities are working together to protect and restore these vital ecosystems, which are crucial nurseries for many marine species. MMF participated in a government ceremony and tree planting to celebrate this unique floral group.
Mozambique Research Report
Dr Steph Venables provided a huge amount of help to finalize the MMF annual research report for Mozambique. While the team faced significant challenges last year with weather, logistics, and even tracked animals being caught and killed – followed by Andrea's aneurysm more recently – it's still great to see everything that they managed to accomplish. This report is an excellent summary of MMF's recent research in the country.
Biofund Marine Biodiversity Conference
Azevedo Chitsumba, Simone Cumbe, and Joaquim (Mito) dos Santos attended the 2nd Marine Biodiversity Conference held by Biofund in Nacala, Mozambique. This event focused on three key thematic areas: Ecosystem-based Adaptation, Marine Conservation Areas, and Coastal and Marine Biodiversity, with the aim to exchange technical and scientific knowledge on the conservation of marine ecosystems. The conference brought together many national and international conservation experts; the MMF team presented the benefits of virtual reality technology for education and conservation. More than 530 people took part in our showcase on the opening day and, by the end of the conference, 1,519 people had viewed MMF's virtual reality experience.
Research Fellows in Zavora
This month, the MMF research fellows Dércio Maoze and Simão Sande joined Lab Manager Nakia Cullain (front, center), Balu (Lab Dog, even more front and center), and the team in Zavora. Not only did they get to develop their diving skills, but they got to experience the excitement of manta season firsthand! The manta action has kicked off exceptionally well in Zavora, with the team identifying 57 unique individuals through June.
MMF Florida
New Paper: Manta Courtship!
New manta ray research has been published by Florida Manta Project founder, Jessica Pate. Her new paper focuses on observations of manta ray reproductive and feeding behavior in central Florida. This is the first documented courtship behavior of this (so far undescribed) third manta species. Identifying critical habitats, such as these reproductive areas, is an important step for manta ray conservation in the USA.
Check out this great article from the The Palm Beach Post to read the highlights:
The team conducted several surveys for Atlantic guitarfish, encountering 21 individuals this month, and have now deployed all their acoustic ‘pinger’ tags on these threatened species. They’ll retrieve the receivers in nine months and download the data to start analyzing the rays’ local and regional movements.
Field Surveys
The team have been exceptionally busy since the start of the Florida field season in June. They’ve been seeing plenty of manta rays — including a couple of favorites (Cricket, sighted for the 56th time, and Lizard, for the 40th) — and deployed four satellite tags. 192 individual manta rays have now been identified in south Florida. They’ve also documented lots of other species including this great shot of a sailfish, and their first aerial sighting of a critically endangered sawfish.
MMF Indonesia
World Sea Turtle Day
The team celebrated World Turtle Day by giving a talk at Bali Aqua Dive Center on Nusa Penida, followed by a dive trip with Bali Aqua along the Nusa Penida coast — where, on cue, three hawksbill turtles were identified :)
Megafauna Monitoring
The team have been racking up dives at Manta Point and other sites around Nusa Penida – seeing a few pregnant reef manta rays, which is great for Janis Argeswara's ongoing reproductive research, and possibly the first baby manta of the season too. As usual, there have been plenty of other species to see as well – turtles of course, and they had a lovely unexpected encounter with 30+ dolphins at Crystal Bay.
National Uni of Singapore Visit
The team had the pleasure of hosting14 students from the National University of Singapore for three days on Nusa Lembongan, as part of their studies on marine megafauna conservation.
They were able to head out snorkelling to collect manta ray and turtle photo-IDs, participate in processing and matching, and to learn more about MMF's research on microplastics and their impact on megafauna, followed by a discussion with the Coral Triangle Center about the Nusa Penida MPA.
Too Much Tourism?
Manta tourism is booming around Nusa Penida, but the rapid increase in the industry is raising concerns about its sustainability. The team recently counted 46 boats at Manta Point, carrying hundreds of divers and snorkelers. As this area is both a cleaning station and key reproductive habitat (see the pregnant manta and crowd photo above), it’s particularly important to find the right balance between enjoying encounters with these magnificent creatures and protecting their home. The team have prepared a great infographic that walks through some of the data on mantas and tourism at the site to inform managers and operators on this emerging conservation challenge.
Meanwhile, in the rest of the world…
Clare’s Galapagos Trip
Senior Scientist Dr Clare Prebble has just hosted a scuba diving liveaboard to the Galapagos with our regular travel partner, Aqua-Firma. Cruising the archipelago on the Aqua, they first enjoyed several dives with giant manta rays at Cabo Marshall on Isabela. Moving to the west coast of the island, they then had 12 Mola on one dive! Pressing north, they were surrounded by three ~12m adult female whale sharks on their first dive at Darwin. Mind. Blown. A short hop south to Wolf topped off the trip with more scalloped hammerheads and Galapagos sharks than they could count. Adding in the marine iguanas, spotted eagle rays, endemic (and adorable) bullhead sharks, sea lions, and about a million sea turtles, it was truly a bucket list trip and a half.
Grey Nurse Shark Surveys
Simon has been leading photo-ID surveys for critically endangered grey nurse sharks (known as sandtigers in the USA) at Wolf Rock, the only known gestation site for the species in eastern Australia, in collaboration with the University of the Sunshine Coast. He’ll be on North Stradbroke Island, diving with Manta Lodge from August 16-27th, so if you’re in the neighborhood then come and join him for a dive!
We can't do all this alone.
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Thanks again for your support!
Dr Simon Pierce
Co-founder, Marine Megafauna Foundation
