Scuba Diving Hawaii - Manta Ray Dive

Scuba Diving with the magnificent Giant Oceanic Manta Ray, Manta birostris, is something really special. The biggest recorded Oceanic Manta Ray was in excess of 25 ft (7.6 m) wing-tip to wing-tip and weighed over 5,300 pounds (2,400 kg). Manta Rays have a short tail and no stinging spine. They are incredibly acrobatic and you will see them do aerobctic manuvers while they fly through the water. They may even leap (breach) from the water and are wonderful for underwater photography. It should be noted that, Manta Rays possess the highest brain-to-body ratio amongst sharks and rays, with measurements nearing what is expected in mammals as opposed to in fishes.

Smeltzer conducted 2 dives, one in the afternoon where he recorded seventeen Mantas swimming next to the reef and a subsequent night Manta Dive, where he recorded 31 Manta Rays. The Mantas come to feed on plankton which is drawn to light. The dive companies furnish individuals torches and also place a few additional torches in the water and you merely sit in circles in roughly 35 feet of water while the Manta rays "fly" close to you. It is without doubt a memorable dive.

This is a amazing location for an underwater photographer. The Rays are literally all around you while the challenge is to be capable to compose and shoot very quickly. When diving at night, Smeltzer takes photos at a reasonably high shutter speed 1/320 while his strobes are aimed wide of his lense to diminish spots on the images caused by the considerable amount of plankton in the water. The lights attract plankton and additional very small marine life that consequently attracts the Rays. This poses a bit of a problem to get a clear shot however it can be achieved with a little patience and practice. The flips and rolls of the Manta rays enables the photographer to create some very compelling marine life images.

Manta Ray breeding behaviour is similar to other related types of rays. Mating occurs near the surface, at a depth no greater than one metre below the surface. It starts with the male pursuing the female ray, for as much as half an hour, both are often closely followed by a group of other suitors. These kinds of mating trains appear to be caused by the cycles of the moon. The male bites the pectoral fin of the female ray and then moves its claspers into the cloaca, holding it there for one minute to one and a half minutes while copulation takes place. The eggs stay inside the female Manta Ray's body for as long as 12 months and hatch in side the "mother" so that she gives birth to live young. Manta Rays' normally have one or two pups every other year.

Adults can be readily recognized by their considerable triangular pectoral fins and projecting u-shaped fins, on the side the head. Each cephalic fin is approximately two times as long as its root is wide. The length of each cephalic lobe, end-to-end, is 14% of the witdth of the body. These fins can be rolled like spirals while they are swimming and flattened when eating. These rays have silky skin, a broad, rectangular terminal mouth situated at the front of the head, and its tail doesn't contain a stinging spine

You should absolutely take the opportunity to scuba dive with the Manta Rays the next time you are on the island of Hawaii or if you are visiting Hanifaru, a small lagoon located near an uninhabited island in the Maldives or another Manta Ray scuba diving location. It makes an remarkable chance to meet some truly wonderful marine animals.

Read additional dive site evaluations on Smeltzer's blog and see other underwater photography on his website and follow him on Twitter @ images2inspire.The pool is open...