New 7,000km2 manta ray and shark sanctuary declared in West Manggarai and Komodo

[andrewharvey]

West Manggarai and Komodo district, Indonesia has designated its entire marine and coastal waters as a manta ray and shark sanctuary.

The district Governor announced last Saturday that fishing is now prohibited for manta rays, sharks, and other threatened species including turtles and Napoleon wrasse, throughout the district’s 7,000km² waters that extend up to 12 nautical miles offshore.

The fantastic achievement is the culmination of efforts by the local government and local dive centers working together to achieve positive impacts on the environment, communities and economy.

More information about this great news at: Indonesia creates new 7,000km2 manta ray sanctuary

 

[danz]

Good news! But the question is always: "Are there resources/efforts to enforce this measure?" On my last visit to Komodo there was 1 boat patrolling the whole area and that one was broken...

 

[andrewharvey]

Danz, you make a good point. Patrols are often under resourced in this part of the world. Fortunately in this case, the local government has made the job easier by declaring a blanket ban on fishing for these species throughout the district. This means that "low-cost" monitoring and enforcement could be established at fishing harbours and markets, supplemented with patrols where possible. We hope that these considerations will be reflected in management plans under development.