Indonesia Launches World`s Biggest Manta Sanctuary
Baku, February 21 (AZERTAC). Indonesia on Friday became home to the world`s biggest manta ray sanctuary covering millions of square kilometres, as it seeks to protect the huge winged fish and draw more tourists to the sprawling archipelago.
New legislation gives full protection to the creatures across all the waters surrounding Southeast Asia`s biggest country, which for years has been the world`s largest shark and ray fishery.
Protection group Conservation International hailed the “bold” move and said it was influenced by a recent government-backed review that showed a single manta ray was worth one million dollars in tourism revenue over its lifetime.
This compares to between $40 and $500 if caught and killed, the group said.
Many foreign tourists come to Indonesia every year to dive in some of the world’s most biodiverse waters and manta rays are a favorite sight.
The gentle beasts have wingspans up to 25 feet, which they flap to propel themselves through the water.
In recent years their numbers of rays have declined rapidly, however, due to voracious demand in China for their body parts for use in traditional medicine.
The new legislation protects manta rays within Indonesia’s 5.8 million square kilometres of ocean, banning fishing of the rays and their export.
It came a year after the local government in Raja Ampat announced the creation of a 46,000-square-kilometre shark and ray sanctuary.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature classifies both species of manta ray as vulnerable.
Other news in this section
