Protecting critical habitat for Manta rays in northern Palawan

Conservation Value:

Manta ray cleaning stations are essential habitats for reef manta rays, as they are the “day spas” where rays regularly go to be cleaned by cleaner fish and crustaceans. An oceanic current that runs over the cleaning station enabling rays to hover over the station, giving the cleaners as much time as possible to remove parasites and necrotic material from wounds. Only two such cleaning stations were previously known in the Philippines, both of which received protection. In 2018, a third reef manta ray cleaning station was discovered in Northern Palawan. Despite a ban following the devil ray’s CITES listing in 2017, illegal bycatch and targeted catch continue to impact manta ray populations.

Threats:

Despite a ban following the devil ray’s CITES listing in 2017, illegal bycatch and targetted catch continue, resulting in the destruction of manta ray populations. Manta rays have a long lifespan making them susceptable to overfishing. Recovering these manta ray populations for the benefit of local communities and biodiversity hinges upon identifying and protecting critical habitat.

Economic hardships in the region are recently exacerbated by the pandemic and descruction caused by Typhoon Odette. This has led to a rise in illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing. Unchecked tourism is set to return to the area as pandemic restrictions ease. High tourism volumes can be damaging to this unprotected habitat, so timely tourism regulations and guidelines for habitat protection is essential.

Actions & Results:

The project lays the groundwork for a new community-led marine protected area and assists in its creation. Actions include:

• Supporting local stakeholders to act upon their own initiatives to protect the cleaning station and its manta rays.
• Training local dive teams with manta ray surveying and monitoring techniques. The collected data is compiled and used to guide conservation efforts.
• Individual manta rays are documented and entered in a national manta ray catalog, which currently lists 107 oceanic and 394 reef manta rays across 22 different sites.
• The project involves regular meetings with local and regional government units.