Shaka Doug
Contributor
Hi everyone, a friend of mine just sent me a video she took of the manta night dive she went on in Kona. She saw lots of rays and was pretty blown away by the experience. She asked me a question and now I am unsure what the answer should be. Maybe some of you can help me out.
She asked "If it's NOT OK to feed fish here on Maui, how is it OK to feed Mantas on Big Island?"
Here on Maui we have groups trying to prevent any and all fish feeding. But isn't sitting on the bottom attracting food for the mantas so they can eat it almost the same thing? Isn't this upsetting their natural behavior for entertainment purpose and monetary gain? Now that the mantas are protected in Hawaii is there a new rule about the manta feeding on the night dives?
I think she opened a can of worms here and they're crawling out all over the place. I'm not sure how to answer her question now. I thought it was cool to feed the mantas and many years ago we used to feed the fish on our dive tours. Things are changing.
Can anyone shed some light on this? Are there special permits required to operate a manta night dive? If it hasn't happened yet, watch for some new legislation on this issue because the reef huggers will surely have something to say about it.
I love manta rays and the dives over there look awesome. Could it become a thing of the past one day?? I hope not.
She asked "If it's NOT OK to feed fish here on Maui, how is it OK to feed Mantas on Big Island?"
Here on Maui we have groups trying to prevent any and all fish feeding. But isn't sitting on the bottom attracting food for the mantas so they can eat it almost the same thing? Isn't this upsetting their natural behavior for entertainment purpose and monetary gain? Now that the mantas are protected in Hawaii is there a new rule about the manta feeding on the night dives?
I think she opened a can of worms here and they're crawling out all over the place. I'm not sure how to answer her question now. I thought it was cool to feed the mantas and many years ago we used to feed the fish on our dive tours. Things are changing.
Can anyone shed some light on this? Are there special permits required to operate a manta night dive? If it hasn't happened yet, watch for some new legislation on this issue because the reef huggers will surely have something to say about it.
I love manta rays and the dives over there look awesome. Could it become a thing of the past one day?? I hope not.