Manta ray (Manta birostris) is one species of ray fish.

Its the biggest

of the family of ray. The width of body can be reached by 7 metres,
with 3 ton of that weight. Manta ray found at almost tropical ocean.
The unique of It has horn near mouth. This horn exactly is couples of
Sefala Fins which help water flowing into mouth, so the plankton and
small fish as it diet can get and the manta ray cannot be hungry. Manta
ray has a beautiful movement when it swim. It swim by chest fins to
pull water so it can move, sometimes it can jump to surface water like
a dolphin. If you watch it on the deep water, it swim like an eagle
which flying in the sky. You can swim near it because it friendly, not
dangerous because it cannot sting on it tail like the other species in
Mobulidae familys.
This exotic fish has been endangered. It has been list in the CITES list
(Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild
Flora and Fauna) in some country in the world. So some country
make an regulation to protect it. Manta ray has a very slow population
growth, because it has slowly reproduction too. In once mating, manta
ray can produce 1 or 2 baby manta for 9 12 gestation period. Manta
ray is ovovivipar animal, so it produce and hatch some egg in their
body. The threat come from human. They hunting this fish for gill, and
produce to be traditional tonic in China. Gill demand is so high in
there and the world. Environmental damage is one of cause decreasing
of manta ray population. It can be happen because waste of human is
going into sea, this is can not naturally recycling, and make a toxic on
the sea.
For conservation, Indonesia government protected manta ray by
national regulation. This fish is under protect now, but hunting for
manta ray gill is still happen. The hunter can from local or
international fisherman. International fisherman more difficult to
handling because we has tools limit, they status maybe illegal
fisherman. So for increasing control, we must use local fisherman for
follow us to protecting their area from illegal fisherman. Before we
can make them as sea guardian, we must build them by education.

Maybe its not easy, so we must approach them from superpower

person in their community. Its can be from tradition leader to follow
us, so the community will be follow us too.
By my experience, sometimes the community is not know that manta
ray is underprotect by government. We must tell them, but if we
banned it so hard, the community will refuse what we want. So we
must create an alternative solution. It can be creating efficien fishing
method or breeding fish method so their can catch more fish for more
profit.