Scientists in Red Sea mission offering mantas a ray of hope

The team, including science officer Graham Hill and senior aquarist Ben Jones, from the Deep in Hull, have been helping tag some of the hundreds of mantas that congregate in the Dungonab Bay Marine Park in the Sudanese Red Sea to learn more about their movements.

Mantas can live for over 20 years and are a “near-threatened” species.

Mr Jones said shark fishermen were active, who sell the gills to Asia, where they are considered a medicine.

He said: “There is a horrendous amount of pressure on the sharks. Their reproductive rate is so slow and the rate they are taken is so fast, the figures don’t add up. They are in decline.”

The scientists hope the data will show the mantas’ migratory patterns, and produce evidence for an effective conservation strategy.

He said: “The level of knowledge about feeding areas and migratory patterns is very limited, so this is ground-breaking data in that respect.

“Mantas are absolutely fantastic; they are such graceful animals; they are a great flagship species for sharks, which in general have a pretty bad Press.”

A second field mission to the Sudan is planned for next year.