The Maldives reef manta rays are year-round residents, migrating across the country’s 26 atolls in tandem with the changing monsoons and the resulting shifts in zooplankton abundance and distribution. These nutrient-rich waters support huge quantities of marine life, and it is not uncommon to find several dozen manta rays feeding in the shallow surface waters in and around the atolls. At the right time of year, some key sites such as Hanifaru Bay, play host to feeding aggregations of >150 mantas - sometimes with a whale shark or two joining in on the feast.

These spectacular underwater events, coupled with the diversity of marine life across the country, make the Maldives one of the best dive and snorkel destinations in the world. Every year the number of tourists travelling to the Maldives specifically to swim with charismatic marine megafauna has increased. These animals are therefore highly valued as a tourism resource in the Maldives, generating an estimated US$8.1 million annually in direct revenue for manta ray tourism alone. This type of tourism has clear significant benefits to the Maldives economy and for the wider-scale conservation of manta rays and the ocean - but as is the case with many natural resources, they continue to be stretched in this developing nation. The negative associated impacts of tourism are increasingly affecting the manta ray population and their habitat.