Endangerment

 Currently the Manta is not an endangered species and sits in the band of "Near Threatened" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.
This means that they are nearly an endangered species but not quite.
I wondered why this was and found a few websites to explain the situation.

http://www.hamerinhawaii.org/Main%20Web%20Pages/Education/Marine%20Life/Rays/manta_rays.htm

This website goes into some detail about the conservation efforts for Manta rays and why they are more endangered that the world makes them out to be.
According to the website:
    "Manta rays have not yet gotten global recognition as a species of concern. The World Conservation Union categorizes them as “Data Deficient” (see details). Being data deficient means that there is an inadequate amount of information to make a direct, or indirect, assessment of their risk of extinction, based on their distribution and/or population status. Manta rays are listed as vulnerable in the Gulf of California, west coast of Mexico, and South China Seas."

Basically what this is saying is that there is not enough research to declare Manta rays to be a threatened species. One reason for this is because no one really knows how many Mantas there are in the world so there is nothing to weigh the deaths and killings up against.

 Greenpeace USA suggest that in 2001/2002 there was a local population of "About 177,220" in the Gulf of California. It also seems to think that populations elsewhere in the world are declining. 

 
An article in The Times online dated May 23, 2009 goes into detail about how Manta rays are becoming hunted for food in Asia as the shark population has fallen dramatically.
The article states that Mantas make an easy target because of their relatively slow speed and because they swim close to the surface of the water and that Manta fishing has become an "Export Operation". 


The Mantas in question are used primarily as a filler for shark fin soup, an "Asian Delicacy" with such a demand that it has left shark populations diminished. They are also used in traditional chinese medicine in which the gills are removed, dried and then ground to a powder. 
The gills make up a tiny proportion of the animals entire mass which can be up to 2 and a half tonnes. 
On the street in China the Manta gills can be easily sold for around £200. 
It is claimed that the gills are effective in medicines to fight cancer. 


At the moment the hunting of manta rays is quite specifically rooted to Indonesia and east Asia. The article also claims that the eastern Indonesian port of Lamakera has increased their Manta catches from a couple of hundred to about 1,500 a year. 

This article brings to light some of the more pressing issues that other websites seem to have missed out and also touches on similar hunting of sharks and skate.
This could be a potential subject to focus specifically on for the resolution to the brief. 


Towards the bottom of the article it also goes into a bit more detail about shark fishing. 
According to research, the market for shark fin soup grows about 5% a year even though shark populations are becoming dangerously low. 

According to the Shark Trust, 80% of Atlantic sharks have been killed in the last 15 years.
More shocking still, it looks like Britain has a major part to play.
There are only 5 EU countried that still allow the removal of shark fins at sea and the UK is one of them.
Shark Trust states that more than 80 tonnes of shark fins are brought into britain every year.

For a country that prides itself on strong morality this seems quite strange.