“Underwater Flight: Protecting the Mantas of Sri Lanka”
| Hours: | 7 p.m. |
| Ages: | Teens, Adults |
| In/Outdoor: | Indoor |
| Cost: | Free |
| Category: | Lectures/Discussions |
In 2010, he met Manta Trust’s Founder and CEO Guy Stevens who encouraged Fernando to get involved in manta research and conservation of the animals that were being significantly affected by fishing in Sri Lanka.
Fernando earned his undergraduate degree in biomedical science in Germany, a master’s degree in marine resources management from the National Oceanography Centre in UK, and then returned to Sri Lanka to put his expertise to work to save the beautiful but threatened manta rays.
Much of his work has been featured in documentaries, and in March 2013, he was instrumental in helping to garner stronger protections for manta rays under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
In his lecture, “Underwater Flight: Protecting the Mantas of Sri Lanka,” Fernando will discuss the grace and beauty of manta rays which have captivated divers for years.
As the largest of the ray species with their remarkable 20-foot wingtip span and weighing up to two tons, manta rays are thought to have the biggest brains of all fish in the ocean.
But they are threatened.
Researchers estimate that 100,000 rays are netted each year mostly in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and India for a lucrative and high demand traditional Chinese medical treatment thought to cleanse human blood of toxins.
According to Al Jazeera, the manta ray’s gill rakers or plates which help them strain plankton from ocean waters have become a $11.3 million a year commodity, fetching three times the value of shark fins.
The New England Aquarium’s Marine Conservation Action Fund is supporting the work of Manta Trust, a UK-based nonprofit organization, as it strives to protect endangered manta rays in Sri Lanka.
Fernando will discuss how they used the funds to document overfishing in India.
Started in 1999, MCAF has supported more than 100 small scale, high impact conservation projects in 36 countries with more than $600,000 to protect vulnerable species and habitats.
In part, the funding to Manta Trust helped achieve stronger international protection for manta rays earlier this year.
WHEN: Wednesday, July 17 at 7 p.m. (Lectures are free and open to the public, thanks to funding by the Lowell Institute.
To register, go to www.neaq.org/AquariumLectures.)
WHERE: New England Aquarium, Simons IMAX Theatre, Central Wharf, Boston
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| LOCATION | ↑ top |
1 Central Wharf, Boston, MA, 02110 map
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