These are a couple of very old (June 2004) photos of a daylight manta ray sighting in Honaunau Bay. Honaunau is not a real hotspot for manta rays so it was kind of a special occasion. I had a good 10 to 15 minute encounter and used up all the film in my clunky old camera. Afterwards, I submitted the photos to the Manta Pacific Research Foundation which catalogs members of the local manta ray population. They can identify individual rays by the black spots and blotches on their underbellies.
It turned out this ray was new to their database and we were given the opportunity to name her. Betty and I decided to name her after our daughter, Trina, whose love of manta rays first brought us to the Big Island for a vacation back in 1999.
There is a link to the MPRF on the right side of the page, Click on it to learn more about MPRF and the good work they are doing to protect Hawai'i's mantas. They recently got legislation passed making it illegal for anyone to kill or capture manta rays in Hawaiian waters.
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