Where we work · Since 2016
USA
From an urban manta ray nursery in Palm Beach County to the oceanic mantas of Hawaii, our US team studies some of the least-known rays in American waters.
MMF has studied rays in the United States since 2016, when Jessica Pate founded the Florida Manta Project, the first dedicated study of Florida’s manta rays. Our team identified a rare nursery for young manta rays along the developed coast of Palm Beach County, and in 2025 the manta rays we study were formally described as a new species, the Atlantic manta ray (Mobula yarae). A specimen collected by our team is its type material (the reference specimen for the species’ scientific description), held at the Smithsonian Institution.
The same Florida field program studies Atlantic guitarfish (Pseudobatos lentiginosus), with more than 200 individuals identified so far, and maps the distribution of rarely seen devil rays along the Atlantic coast and in the Gulf of Mexico. In the Pacific, our Hawaii Oceanic Manta Project is working with local researchers and the diving community to build the first picture of oceanic manta rays around the Hawaiian Islands.
Across 2025, our school visits, public talks, and coastal festivals reached more than 3,000 people, and our lesson plans are free for any teacher to use. If you see a manta ray in Florida, please send a photograph of it to [email protected].
Our projects in the USA
Atlantic Guitarfish
MMF's Atlantic guitarfish research in Florida: photo-identification of 200+ individuals, acoustic tracking, and the habitat baseline this little-known rhino ray needs.
Led by Jessica PateAbout the project →
Atlantic Mobula Rays
Mapping the distribution of the western Atlantic's rarely encountered manta and devil rays, to establish the baseline their conservation requires.
361 sicklefin devil rays in 180 sightings, 1996 to 2022Led by Jessica PateAbout the project →
Hawaii Oceanic Manta Project
Oceanic manta rays occur in Hawaiian waters, yet almost nothing is known about them, so we are compiling sightings from researchers and divers to build the first scientific picture of the species around the islands.
Led by Mark HackneyAbout the project →BryantTurffs.jpg)
The Florida Manta Project
We have studied Florida's manta rays since 2016, from a rare urban nursery for young rays in Palm Beach County to a spring aggregation of adults off central Florida.
59 manta rays identified in Palm Beach County, 2016 to 2019Led by Jessica PateAbout the project →What we work on
Manta rays in south Florida live close to large urban centers, and 27% of the rays we identified in Palm Beach County carried fishing-line injuries. We produce outreach signs and videos for anglers and boaters, and are working with the International SeaKeepers Society on a boat-strike awareness campaign.
Almost nothing is known about the Atlantic manta ray's critical habitats, population structure, or life history. We share our data with NOAA to support manta ray protection under the US Endangered Species Act, and present our findings to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
US fisheries records group Atlantic guitarfish with other rays, and their nearshore habitat is changing with coastal development and beach renourishment. We are building the identification, movement, and habitat baseline that management requires.
We visit schools twice a month, and 88% of the students we teach are at Title 1 schools. Every student receives a copy of A Manta Ray's Journey, a children's book by Jessica Pate, and our free lesson plans meet Florida state standards.
