The importance of key aggregation sites for juvenile Manta Rays (Mobula alfredi and Mobula birostris), and the impacts of anthropogenic threats

Manta rays (Mobula alfredi and Mobula birostris) are slow-growing cartilaginous fishes, and their late maturity and low fecundity leave them highly vulnerable to overexploitation. A number of anthropogenic threats impact manta rays globally, including susceptibility to by-catch and targeted fisheries, which are partly driven by the Asian medicinal demand for mobulid gill plates. In the Maldives Archipelago manta rays are nationally protected from fisheries and are abundantly healthy in numbers. In Sri Lanka however, just north of the Maldives, we find the world's largest mobulid fishery, where it has been found that no more adults of these species exist in these waters with only juveniles being caught, which if un-changed will lead to local extinction within the area. This project aims to expand research on the juvenile life stage of manta rays, by identifying critical habitats used by young of year individuals such as pupping and nursery areas, which remain relatively understudied around the world. This project has the long-term goal of planning and designing policies for marine protected areas and other conservation initiatives to protect these species from further reduction.