Endangered giant manta ray seen in Canary Island waters
Divers in Playa Blanca, Lanzarote, were treated to an extraordinary encounter on Friday when they came face-to-face with a giant manta ray, the largest species of manta in the world.
The sighting was captured by the local dive centre Pura Vida Diving Lanzarote, whose team described the experience as “the most beautiful day of our diving in Lanzarote”
The group of divers were able to swim alongside the majestic creature for around 20 minutes while exploring the seabed.
The giant manta ray (Mobula birostris) belongs to the Mobulidae family, can have a wingspan of up to seven metres, and is classified as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Typically found in tropical and subtropical waters of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, the species is more commonly sighted in places such as Hawaii, Egypt, or the Caribbean coast of Mexico. In the Canary Islands, however, sightings are far less frequent, making this encounter particularly special.
The Bonn Convention, an international agreement to protect migratory wildlife, stresses the importance of working together across countries to safeguard endangered species such as the giant manta ray.
The Canary Islands have also seen other remarkable visitors in recent years. Just off La Palma, orcas have occasionally been spotted chasing tuna, whilst in Tenerife, boat tours have reported sightings of false killer whales (a rare, large dolphin species that resembles an orca).
Divers in Gran Canaria have also encountered the enormous ocean sunfish, one of the heaviest bony fish in the world, drifting near the surface.
Sharks, too, play their part in these surprise visits. Angel sharks, now critically endangered across Europe, are still found in Canarian waters, often camouflaged in sandy seabeds. Alongside the resident pilot whales and bottlenose dolphins, these extraordinary encounters just show how the islands are one of the Atlantic’s most important sanctuaries for marine life.
Share:
