The Marine Megafauna Foundation (MMF) has been named an official Impact Partner for the United Nations Environment Programme's (UNEP) Playing For the Planet - Green Game Jam 2023.

New research by the Marine Megafauna Foundation, has extended the southern range of the reef manta ray (Mobula alfredi) in Africa, connecting the longest monitored and highly vulnerable population of reef manta rays along southern Mozambique to the UNESCO World Heritage site of iSimangaliso in South Africa.

In August 2022, MMF led by Co-founder Dr Andrea Marshall spoke with Prince Harry and a US congressional delegation to give unique insight and a virtual tour of Mozambique’s extraordinarily rich underwater world as part of our ongoing efforts to promote and expand Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in the region

MMF first began as the ‘Manta & Whale Shark Research Centre’ in Tofo, Mozambique, where Andrea Marshall completed the world’s first PhD on the biology and ecology of manta rays. Years later, she and the MMF team continue as world leaders in manta ray research and conservation. To help celebrate these majestic sea flap-flaps, we’ve compiled some updates on the latest discoveries on manta ray from our global team:

MMF's research team used drones, aerial surveys, and in-water photography and videography to collect measurements and track individuals for the 3D model

“The moment I saw it, I knew it was something special and unusual.”

MMF scientists have kickstarted an intensive tagging study designed to better understand movements and habitat use and guide protection of these rare and threatened species

Scientists use a combination of local knowledge, underwater photography, and research dives to track an endangered shark.

A devastating new study documents an alarming decline of oceanic shark and ray populations – 71% over the past 50 years – primarily due to overfishing. The study confirms fears that high levels of decline in pelagic sharks and rays are happening on a worldwide scale.

After 20 years of research and lobbying efforts, the Marine Megafauna Foundation (MMF) is thrilled to announce a major legislative victory for ocean life in Mozambique. A new commercial fishing law enacts sweeping protections for several threatened species, including whale sharks, manta rays, and all mobula species.

Global lockdowns pose few problems for whale sharks off Tanzania. New research shows that these gigantic fish prefer to stay in the bay they call home. Scientists regard whale sharks as a “highly migratory” species, capable of swimming tens of thousands of kilometers each year. However, a study published today in the journal Frontiers in […]

A new landmark study published today in Nature by Global FinPrint reveals sharks are virtually absent on many of the world’s coral reefs, indicating they are too rare to fulfill their normal role in the ecosystem, otherwise referred to as “functionally extinct.” Of the 371 reefs surveyed in 58 countries, sharks were not observed on […]

In a new study, published in the journal Marine Ecology Progress Series, researchers from the Marine Megafauna Foundation, University of Western Australia and Utrecht University used acoustic telemetry to identify critical habitat areas and understand movement patterns of reef manta rays in the waters off Mozambique’s Inhambane Province. […]