The Ningaloo Manta Project’s citizen science database records sightings of Reef manta rays and Oceanic manta rays photographed along Australia’s West coast. The belly markings of a manta ray remain unchanged throughout their lifetime, acting as a useful and unique ‘fingerprint’ for identification. With photographic sighting records dating back to 2004, and sightings spanning from Shark Bay to the Rowley Shoals, our database has amassed an impressive >7500 submissions from over 200 contributing photographers.

For long-lived animals like manta rays, ongoing and long-term monitoring through photographic databases allows us to better understand important life history traits such as reproduction and maturity rates, as well as population parameters such as movements, population size and visitation patterns. Reef manta rays are currently listed as ‘Vulnerable to Extinction’ on the IUCN Red List, with Oceanic mantas facing a more dire ‘Endangered’ listing’.

By contributing your sighting to the Ningaloo Manta Project, you are supporting efforts to document and better understand these majestic creatures.