Manta Report News
Say hi to Nola, our newest identified Yap Manta Ray. Things might not look like a Manta Ray research laboratory around here, but behind the scenes the Yap Divers efforts work as a pillar supporting the government backed Manta Ray preservation program. During Manta Fest 2012 we collected hundreds of gigabytes of photography and ran that through the Yap database analyzer, which is a hand sorting process of photo identification. Each clear full belly shot is cross-referenced with the hundred or so individually identified resident Manta Rays on file. Identifying a new resident animal is a good sign that the Manta Ray population is growing and healthy. Another key ingredient is the length of time the dive team has been working together on this project. The Yap Divers team sees these animals on a daily basis and two weeks ago a new face was in the water with markings that were not immediately familiar, this all started on the reef and was confirmed back in the office. During the photography festival Judy Bennett from New Orleans got to name this Ray. That’s how the name NOLA came about. Thanks Judy and congratulations on leaving a permanent mark on Yap with your camera.