Boats Continue To Run Over Manta Rays

Marine biologists who are part of the Pacific Manta Project Mexico, have had meetings with fishermen and boat captains, to avoid the death of manta rays in that part of the bay.

These events are more frequent in the Yelapa area where an echo sounder was installed to detect the zooplankton patches, putting satellite tagging on individual mantas to understand a little more about their activity during the day, biologists reported.

An expert in the subject informed that the team in which he has been integrated spent two weeks putting decoy tags on some mantas, GPS on some boats, with the purpose of avoiding that they continue to be run over.

The work was carried out in the waters of Yelapa, where they worked with giant manta rays and the boats with the objective of seeing in which areas the manta rays and the boats coincide in their location, because they have been trying to see a way to be able to solve because there are many giant manta rays that are injured from blows by boats, and with wounds from fishing nets of those who call them "chinchorros".

"We are trying to allow the mantas to move freely without the danger of getting entangled in the nets."

Many of them understand that it is a loss for everyone and are interested in seeing how or in what way with GPS trackers on their boats they can make a "Risk Map", marking the seasons of the year and the areas in Banderas Bay, where it is more likely that fishing nets can catch an oceanic manta ray.

They are looking to keep a registry or statistics on the number of stingrays that are caught.