Manta Alley Ocean of Living Dragon: Divers in the Water

Manta Wacth Organization diving the Manta Alley in Indonesia Komodo National Park

When on the quest for secret magnificent dive sites packed with mythical manta rays inevitably the Ocean currents took us back to Raja Ampat Indonesia. This time it is Manta Alley, its ocean music which is calling.

Manta Watch asks the question “Is Manta Alley the Best Manta Site in the World?

"A train of four giant mantas charges overhead, and it’s not a freak encounter. The site’s full name is Manta Alley, but superstition has local guides simply calling it the Alley lest the wonders fail to appear, which is rare. Right now, 15 of them -each roughly 12 feet across are winging laps around Langkoi Rock, a craggy pinnacle of the south side of Komodo, the Indonesian island best known among non-divers for dragons. As for the mantas, they’re here when cold water is, pushing in plankton. And the action is nonstop," Active Divers aboard the M/V Komodo Dancer reported excited and inspired in the recent report ran by Scuba Diving Magazine.

The Komodo Dancer was sailing waters of Indonesia's Komodo National Park -known for its terrestrial habitat home to the Komodo Dragon -a reptile of significant size which is unique in its kind...but now its waters are also gaining international reputation among expert divers.

“The big stuff, from mantas to mola mola, is just part of the reason experienced divers consider Indonesia as the trip of a lifetime,” Komodo Dancer headquarters says calling for participants to take part in their open expedition cruises.

The Komodo National Park in Indonesia was established in 1980 and was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a Man and Biosphere UNESCO Reserve in 1986. Its pòlicy and maps act out in more than 1.8 square kilometers of land and ocean wild waters.

IUCN Red List -International Union for Conservation of Nature adds that Manta Rays genus has been recently re-evaluated and split in two species the Reef Manta Ray and the Giant Manta Ray. Genetic evidence further confirms the existence of two separate species. Both species are present in ocean environments throughout the world.

Mantas are listed as “Vulnerable”. Impacts range from fishery to unsustainable development and unsustainable diving and unsustainable tourism activities

Manta Watch -also on an expedition in Manta Alley reported on Day 5. “Today was an exhausting amazing day. Today we completed four dives in strong currents. We started at 6 am, at the site called Manta Alley in South Komodo,” the team reported. Divers took to colder waters and reported 10 to 12 Mantas in their first dive alone. The team took on Identification scientific actions and observations.

Manta Watch explains that not all Manta Diving affects negatively the Manta populations. The group has a vision...“more effective research, management and conservation of Manta Rays”.

“We promote awareness, change and solutions to the threats facing manta ray populations worldwide,” Manta Watch with presence in Manta Alley says from the frontline.

“Our projects aim to encourage active participation in Manta Ray conservation,” Manta Watch calling for the International Diving Community to act as Interns in their Scientific Programs of Conservation, Diving and Awareness says.

Interns at Manta Watch not only travel to unbelievable destinations but learn photo tagging techniques, identification skills and scientific tools and get involved in Manta population monitoring even before hitting the waters.

“...We then dived Manta Alley two more times, and found many mantas just hovering in the currents. After each dive, we filled in our log books and record all our observations and data. That’s how we do the manta monitoring, and know about the population, migration, and conservation of mantas.Manta Alley must be the best dive site in the world!” an Intern blasted away the dive log online reaching the social media from the incredible waters of Manta Alley Indonesia.

“I hope that these experiences will help us all to become Indonesia’s young marine leaders and manta ambassadors, and to gain new knowledge about marine ecosystems,” the diver ended it.

Ocean Life News in Brief

Ocean Level Increase Dropping Oceans Floor: International Press reported on December 5 on the findings of new research which assures that due to ocean level increase the ocean floor is sinking. The study published online in Geophysical Research Levels used mathematical equations to accurately measure the Ocean's floor impact driven by the increased of water volume weight. Using data from 1993 to 2014 researchers found that ocean level increase is causing the Ocean floor to drop globally by the milimeters. Ocean Dead Zones Up By Four: On January 8 New York Daily reported that Ocean Dead Zones have quadrupled.Researchers warned in a new study that oxygen-starved ocean dead zones, where animals and plants are struggling to survive, have increased fourfold and it may not be reversible. The new study was published in the Journal Science. The increase of Dead Zones was linked to climate change. La Niña´s Polar Wave Hitting Hard the US -Freezing Oceans: International Press reported on the Polar Wave hitting hard the US. The event is linked by experts to the influence of La Niña. “For the past couple of weeks, parts of North America have been chilling down to record temperatures, with massive snowfall and icy cold conditions putting life at a standstill for many,” media reported. The US East Coast has been particularly badly hit with the likes of Boston down to Philadelphia reaching bone-chilling lows of near 0°F , with icy winds making it feel closer to around -10°F to -20°F. Officially 18 were dead and 100 million affected. Government of Bali Declares a Garbage Emergency: On January 5 Ocean Conservancy reported on a New Waste Management Emergency in Bali. Massive amounts of ocean debri are affecting the island. The situation has reached its peak as the Government of Bali declared a “Garbage Emergency”. Clean up works have began. “Ivory Coast Village Swallowed by Ocean Increase,” Aljazeera Reports: On January 8 Al Jazeera reported that ocean increase levels are affecting infrastructure in the Ivory Coast. “Rising tides and more frequent, devastating storms are slowly destroying what is left of Lahou-Kpanda, the offshoot of what was once a major colonial town near the mouth of the Bandama River, the longest river in Ivory Coast,” Al Jazeera reported. Arctic Ocean Radioactive Levels on the Rise: IFL Science reported on January 3 on the findings of new report which assures that radioactive levels in the Arctic Ocean are on the rise. “Concentrations of radioactive radium-228 in the Arctic Ocean increased between 2007 and 2015,” the report reads. While levels have not yet reached a mark of concern the trend is worries experts. Lauren Kipp of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution addressed the issue. New World Wide Ocean Turtle Study Says 90% of Plastic Pollution Cases Result in Death: Earth Sky Org reported on January 7 that hundreds of marine turtles die every year after getting tangled in trash in oceans and on beaches. A research published in the journal Endangered Species Research took on a World-Wide Survey covering the major oceans where turtles live. They discovered that 91 % of the entangled turtles were found dead. They also suffered serious wounds from entanglement, leading to maiming, amputation or choking. Double Whirlpools Discovered for First Time: December 4 Press reported that Double Eddies have been registered for the first time in History. Tangled up Double Eddies can travel great distances affecting ecology significantly. Eddies are a natural part of the ocean environment but double whirlpools had only been theorized by mathematicians.