Reef Manta Ray

Photo: Alexandre Levallois · © all rights reserved

Resident reef manta rays at Miyako are individually photo-identified through their unique spot patterns, with a known population of over 50 animals documented by local researchers. They use the cleaning stations with impressive regularity, often arriving within a predictable tidal window that experienced local guides can forecast. Feeding aggregations also occur in the open water above the reef when plankton blooms are thick, with animals performing barrel rolls to concentrate prey.