Sighting Statistics of manta rays along the Kona Coast

The Kona Coast on the Big Island of Hawaii is a unique place where manta rays are seen regularly. For many years our team of underwater videographers went night diving at “Manta Village” and “Manta Heaven” six to seven nights a week.

From 2009 until 2014, we kept detailed records of manta ray sightings by keeping track of which individual was seen, took note of their overall, physiological condition at what location, and compiled monthly statistics with accuracy. For 2011 to 2013 annual reviews of the data were created.

This information helped us to learn how the mantas traveled within their home range, predicted when it was more likely to see higher numbers and documented consistency. You can learn more about how the data was collected in this article. We want to encourage you to get to know the individual manta rays so browse our library collection of pictures, video clips, descriptions, and stories.

To review a certain month or year, simply select from the drop-down menu for a list of available statistic files in pdf-format.

PROUD FACT: A few years back, Jeremy Axworthy (School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences – University of Washington, Seattle) “crunched the numbers” and published this paper in the Journal of Fish Biology. Martina Wing is one of the co-authors!