Manta Rays

Each year between May and October the waters around the resort are blessed with the elegance of our name sake, the Pacific Manta Ray. As many as thirteen manta ray have been recorded in front of the resort at one time. Daily snorkelling trips allow visitors to experience these magnificent creatures up close as they glide majestically through the nutrient rich channel.

The waters around Mantaray Island Resort are an internationally recognised refuse for Manta Ray.

Manta Ray are large beautiful creatures that live in warm temperate waters around the globe.. Their side, or pectoral fins, have evolved into wide triangular wings which they use to gracefully propel themselves and glide through the water.

Their scientific name is Manta birostris. In Fijian they are called the "VAI". With wings spans reaching over 20 feet across, Manta Ray are one of the largest fish in the ocean.

Due to the strong nutrient rich currents that funnel through the narrow channels around the island, Manta Ray are able to access their main food source, plankton, with ease, and in great abundance. We have recorded as many as 13 Manta Ray in the channel around the resort at one time.

Cousins to the shark, Manta Ray have cartilaginous skeletons that make for their graceful flexibility. Manta Ray are filter feeders. They possess cephalic (head) fins that they use to help funnel food and water into their cavernous mouths. Manta Ray do not have teeth or a sting on their tail. They are completely harmless to humans.

Manta Ray are slow to attain sexual maturity and have a low birth rate, consequently populations are seriously threatened in many areas of the world. Manta Ray Island Resort is one of only a few places on the globe, where people can have an up close and personal encounter with these magnificent ocean creatures.

Our season for Manta Ray spans up to 5 months, from May to October but have been viewed from as early as April until as late as November. Guests can expect to see Manta Ray of all sizes, in large numbers, on a daily basis.

*Mantaray are wild animals and while they are usually present during this time there are no guarantees.

*In the interest of protecting our marine environment we do not offer scuba diving with manata ray.