- Hey S-D fans, welcome back.
In this video, we have teamed up once again
with our friends at Prodivers in the Maldives
to bring you some advice
on the very best ways to get up close and personal
with Manta rays on a cleaning station,
with the minimum interaction and disruption
to their routine.
For those here for the first time,
my name's Mark.
I'm the Editor in Chief of the Scuba Diver media brand.
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Now on with the video
(upbeat music)
- Hi guys.
My name is Carola, and I'm a dive instructor at Prodivers.
I'm working on Kuredu Island Resort
and I've only been diving for about four years.
I'm really enjoying my time here.
And today we are going to talk about Manta etiquette.
So how do we dive with Mantas?
How do we snorkel with Mantas?
And what you need to remember.
So, first of all, Mantas are not dangerous,
that's really important to remember.
They might seem big and a little bit scary,
but they don't do anything to us.
So rule number one, when we want to enter the water
we should be as quiet as we possibly can.
So, no jumping, no splashing, not a lot of noise.
So we slide into the water from the boat
and we stick to the surface.
And we also try to kick with our fins under the water,
especially when we're snorkeling.
The Manta rays can only see us from the side.
So we should never approach
from the front or directly behind the Manta ray,
because that is their blind spot.
If you come from the side, the Manta ray can see you
and the Manta ray can decide if they want to come closer.
If you approach them or chase them from behind,
you might end the encounter for everyone.
Manta rays come really, really close sometimes.
You have to inhale, oh and they just go underneath you.
So we don't want to touch them.
They sometimes touch us by mistake,
but we don't want to give them a belly rub.
We could give them lots of disease
and make them really sick when we touch them.
Our hands are full of bacteria,
so no touching, just watching.
When we dive with Manta rays,
we also want try and stay as calm as we can underwater
and let the Manta ray decide if they want to come closer.
Sometimes we're really lucky
and they stay with us underwater for a long time.
We at Prodivers in the lovely Lhaviyan Atoll,
have one of the most famous Manta cleaning stations
and Manta points, it's called Fushivaru.
And we always have a good chance to snorkel
and dive with the Manta rays, between October and April.
And then there's a good chance for everyone to get a look
at these beautiful gentle giants.
So a definite must do is snorkel and dive with Manta rays
when you are on the Island the next time.
Don't forget to follow us on social media,
on Facebook and Instagram.
And we hope to see you soon.
(upbeat music)