disappointing, frustrating experience, with all the "wild" inexorably squeezed out of it; it can become a menace to the animals themselves.
But the alternative, especially for mantas and other species of rays, is even less appealing. This year, in this same area, a one-tonne, seven-meter manta was accidentally caught in a gill net by local fishermen. Photos circulated on the web and caused outrage among conservationists. By-catch - the unwanted fish and other marine life caught during commercial fishing for a target species - is a significant problem of fisheries. That same day, we also observed fishermen returning to port with boatloads of smaller mobula rays. Our two local companions told us their meat has little value, but people catch them because they can. Having just been thrilled by the company of their larger cousins, I found it painful to see dozens of limp, blood-smeared mobula bodies being brought to shore.
If their monthly income depends little on these species, surely it would be better for fishermen to be gainfully employed as skippers, crew members, manta monitors, guides, and tourism operators? To meaningfully involve them in safeguarding their populations of rays and whale sharks, while enhancing sustainable community development?
I think it’s worth a try. So write the story I did, in the hope that others can experience the compelling grandeur of these animals, their languid grace, their otherness.
Jessica Groenendijk is a Dutch biologist turned conservationist and writer. She was born in Colombia, has lived in Burkina Faso, Holland, Tanzania and England, crossed the Atlantic Ocean twice on a sailboat between the ages of 6 and 10, worked with black rhinos in Zambia and giant otters in Peru, and will soon be based in Lima. Her writing has been published in BBC Wildlife Magazine, Travel Zambia Magazine, and Africa Geographic, as well as literary magazines such as Animal: A Beast of a Literary Magazine and Zoomorphic. Please check out her web site: jessicagroenendijk.com and facebook.com/jessica.groenendijk.author
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