Maldives ‘tourism boom’ putting manta
rays at risk
Giant manta rays could be driven away from
world-famous feeding site in five years because of disruption from tourist
industry, warns leading marine biologist
Despite its recent status as a Marine
Protected Area (MPA), a popular tourist destination in the Maldives is facing a
massive decline in wildlife and tourism unless proper management is put in
place.
Since being awarded MPA status in 2009 and receiving increased media interest,
Hanifaru Bay in Baa Atoll has seen its tourism trade triple.
But Guy Stevens,
director of the Maldives Manta Ray Project, warns that without proper management
this ‘cannot go on’, and suggests that in just 'five years we will see a massive
decline in the number of animals that will come to Hanifaru’.
Stevens says the area is ‘failing as a Marine Protected Area’, with no
management or enforcing of regulations; he says it hasn’t been a priority for
the Maldives government and is just a ‘paper park’. He adds that pressure is now
on the authorities to ‘sort it out’ before the start of the next manta ray
season.
Although the main area is only the size of a football pitch, Hanifaru is a
world-famous feeding site for up to 250 manta rays, which have an average
wingspan of 3m.
Stevens explains the problem is the ‘sheer volume of people in the water’ - he
has seen as many as 13 boats and almost 200 people there at one time, inhibiting
the animals’ ability to feed: ‘They just physically cannot swim through the
water to feed on the plankton… The contact from people, touching, bumping into
the animals disturbs their feeding behaviour.’
Safety is also a big problem: ‘We’ve had animals hit by propellers, it’s just a
matter of time before someone’s going to get chopped up by a propeller… boats
hitting other boats, people being hit by boats, it’s just a recipe for
disaster.’
Hanifaru is also home to whale sharks. Stevens warns that both species are
likely to ‘start searching food from other areas’.
