OVERVIEW

The Indonesian Manta Project was founded in 2010 to address a major gap in manta ray research and conservation in Indonesia. We set out to better understand manta populations in this vast archipelago, tackle the threats that have been causing their populations to decline, and to shine a light on Indonesia’s manta rays.

Indonesia is the world’s largest shark and ray fishing nation, as such manta populations here are some of the most threatened globally. We are working on the frontlines to safeguard Indonesia’s manta rays.

We are proud to be the Indonesian affiliate project of The Manta Trust, a charity whose aim is to unify manta scientists and conservationists around the world in a shared mission to understand and protect manta rays.

Our current efforts are primarily focused in two key regions of Indonesia:

01 THE BIRD’S HEAD SEASCAPE
02 THE SAVU SEA

The Bird’s Head Seascape and the Savu Sea are some of the most biodiverse marine regions on the planet, but they also face a myriad of threats. The Bird’s Head Seascape is home to the famous Raja Ampat islands and Indonesia’s most abundant manta populations, but there are still many areas without protection, and the increasing pressure from tourism is starting to negatively impact manta rays and their critical habitat. 

Much less is known about manta rays in the Savu Sea but we do know that they are the most threatened in Indonesia. This is due to the targeted and bycatch manta fisheries that exist in the region and the current lack of conservation efforts.