Crowding, misbehavior, safety issues and the worst, injured mantas. With the introduction of new operators new problems have arose. On some nights there can be over 30-40 boat operators at a single manta snorkel site. The awareness of the activity has exploded with books, travel agencies, magazines, news outlets and more sharing the experience with the world. There are now upwards of 50 companies participating in the manta ray snorkel. Fast forward to 2019 and the manta ray industry has grown exponentially. Some nights it was only me and the other divers in my group. A small group of snorkelers would get the show of their lifetime and then head back to shore. At the manta site one boat would occasionally linger for an our while it’s guests lay floating in the water. When I first went swimming with manta rays in Kona in 2008 it was a very different experience. The manta rays are able to scoop up these little critters with their large mouths designed to scoop up vast amounts of water and filter out the phytoplankton.Ī manta ray does what mantas do best, put on a great show! This powerful underwater light attracts the phytoplankton which is made up of small little crustaceans like shrimp that eat even smaller animals. The Outrigger (used to be the Sheraton) Keahou hotel has had a light in the ocean for as long as people can remember. But at night it has a predilection for the light. During the day they hide inside the reef and the deeper parts of the ocean. Humans discovered this predilection for little plankon critters 20 years ago and ever since then the manta ray night snorkel was born. They are filter feeders in search of small plankton critters. Every night after sunset dozens of massive underwater flying aliens also known as manta rays look for food. The Big Island of Hawaii is home to one of the most spectacular underwater shows known to man. Manta Ray night Snorkel Kona’s biggest Industry The dark side of Swimming with Manta Rays in Kona How can we do our best to protect what is most precious to us?
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