Manta Rays

Our long-term study of Florida's manta rays, from a rare urban nursery for young Atlantic manta rays to a seasonal aggregation of adults off central Florida.

Two decades of research on manta and devil rays along southern Mozambique's Inhambane coast, home to Africa's largest known manta ray populations. Sightings have fallen steeply, and we work to find and protect the places these rays need.

Since 2012 MMF has followed reef manta rays at Nusa Penida, Komodo, and Sangalaki, identifying more than 2,000 individuals and producing the data that helped protect the species across Indonesia.

Following manta rays across the Mozambique–South Africa border to understand and protect the last large population on the East African coast.

MMF's devil ray research in the western Atlantic: range extensions, the 2025 three-species distribution study, and the newly described Mobula yarae.

Research on the oceanic manta rays of Mexico's Revillagigedo National Park, led by Dr. Madalena Cabral of Cuidando los Mares de México, with MMF contributing expeditions and photo-identification between 2024 and 2026.

The first dedicated study of manta and devil rays in Madagascar, from seven years of surveys off Nosy Be.

A completed study of the reef manta rays around Mayotte in the northern Mozambique Channel, covering their movements, their diving behavior, and the shallow bay where young mantas aggregate.

Completed research with LAMAVE on the diet and slow reproduction of manta and devil rays in the Bohol Sea, Philippines, and on the distribution of manta rays across the country.

MMF studied the impacts of marine plastic pollution on manta rays and whale sharks to better understand the risk to these filter-feeders.