![]() I strongly recommend against supporting any and all snorkel tour operators that are not part of the traditional group that both protect the Manta Ray Night Dive site itself and contribute significantly to manta ray conservation. Giant Freshwater Stingrays only reach a little over half that, at around 16. The situation is a setup for somebody to get run over by a boat. The largest manta ray ever is the Giant Oceanic Manta Ray (Manta Birostris), far larger than any species of Stingray and boasting a huge wingspan of up to 29 feet, measured between the tips of the wide pectoral fins. This creates a very unsafe scenario where many groups are floating in the dark surrounded by many boats operated by people who do not necessarily know the dive site or the flow of divers and snorkelers at the site. The snorkel tour operators are getting so plentiful that there can be 22-25 boats in the same dive site on any given night. ![]() They are filter feeders and eat large quantities of zooplankton. Credit: George Schmahl/Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary About the Species The giant manta ray is the world’s largest ray with a wingspan of up to 29 feet. These new snorkel tour operators are trying to take advantage of an amazing dive experience developed by somebody else over a period of years. Giant manta ray in Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary. The manta site has been there for years and was established by a dive company in town. In the last year a number of snorkel tour operators realized that they can make a lot of money running groups out to the manta site. When navigating, the manta ray keeps these lobes. Another distinguishing feature is the presence of structures that protrude from their head, called cephalic lobes. Manta rays can travel alone or in groups of up to 50 members. I have been doing this dive/snorkel annually for some time now. Manta Rays can be up to 25 feet in length and weight as much as 5,000 pounds. To be fair, Miss Mojo is not the only person guilty of this. Miss Mojo blatantly ignores the accepted standards of operation. The experience is truly the best when all mantas are concentrated in one area. This detracts from your experience as a snorkeler and takes mantas away from the other divers and snorkelers. Miss Mojo's very large boat light and snorkelers that setup away from the traditional "campfire" disperse the mantas through a larger area. Other snorkelers then float on the top with banks of lights that creates a column of light for the mantas to swim through. The campfire is a set of lights in a basket placed in a ring of rocks at the bottom. Traditionally, the dive is centered around a "campfire". Miss Mojo significantly detract from the experience of the manta night dive for all other divers as well as sets up a suboptimal environment for the dive. I am long time manta night diver and snorkeler and have gone many times.
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