Are you in love with the ocean? Do you love the gentle giants like manta rays and whale sharks?

Well I do. I love them so much that I went for a certification as PADI divemaster, so I could dive with them everyday eventually.

In June 2017, I joined an amazing company called Salesforce. Salesforce has vision of profitability and philanthropy as core pillars of the company’s DNA and co-founded the Pledge 1% organisation. That took shape as the 1-1-1 model, which dedicates 1% of the company’s equity, 1% of its product, and 1% of employees’ time back to the community. The 1% of employee time translates to 56 hours (7 days) of Volunteer Time Off (VTO) which can be used for any causes or NGO's that align with the employee's interests.

Naturally I organised a team of Salesforce volunteers from offices of Australia, Brazil, France, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, UK and USA to work with the marine biologist and ocean conservationist from an organisation called Manta Trust in the Maldives in August 2018. 



Not only we get to dive everyday while taking photos of manta ray's belly for identification, we get to explore areas that are under-funded and collect valuable data for research.

The photos we captured was then matched in the Maldivian manta rays database, so the marine biologists are able to track manta rays feeding and mating behaviours.

We know so little about these animals that one of the oceanic manta rays seminars we attended has less than 10 slides in it! We don't know how do they sleep, where do they go at night, we've never witnessed a manta ray give birth in the wild and we're running out of time. Manta rays and mobula rays are listed as endangered and under CITES Appendix II. It means that we don't do anything now, they'll be threatened to extinction.

One of the reasons why manta rays are being illegally poached is the demand of their gill racks for traditional Chinese medicine that has risen in the past 10 years, even though they were not historically used for any purpose. These “gill plates” or “gill rakers” are feathery filaments of cartilage that the rays use to filter plankton from seawater as they swim.

"Toxicology tests by WildAid have also revealed that many of the gills sold at the Qingping market contain dangerous levels of heavy metals and carcinogens, including arsenic, cadmium, mercury and lead, toxic substances that accumulate as the mantas filter plankton through their gills."

Read more in the New York Times.

We have to fully understand the economy of illegal trade of manta rays gills and the migration pattern of manta rays in order to preserve these majestic animals. Fishermen get paid USD$60-100 for each manta ray gill while each manta ray can generate USD$1M over its life time by tourism. Our Salesforce VTO Expedition was to ensure we contribute to Manta Trust's on-going research, so we can petition to governments for more marine protect areas and the hope of increase in tourism economy.

Another key pillar of Manta Trust's work was education. Through interactive workshops and snorkelling lessons with local students and teachers, beach and mangroves clean ups, we were able to inspire and educate them about the beauty of these animals and preserve the environment they live in, so they don't have to live with plastic.

**Sounds too good to be true? Check us out in action and the impact we’ve made with the 9-day expedition:**

### Ready to help? 

You can find more information at https://www.mantatrust.org - they welcome volunteers in 3 key streams:

**Expedition:** Not only you can contribute to adding data to their database (we found 9 new manta rays in our expedition!), you're also helping the manta matching process that contribute to the research. They have expeditions in Maldives, Indonesia, Thailand and Mexico all year round.

**IDtheManta:** As long as you have photos of manta rays' belly, feel free to upload to the portal. You can also check out the guide on how to get the perfect manta ID.

**Adopt a manta:** The digital adoption packs make the perfect gift - an opportunity to learn about these gentle giants, whilst supporting global efforts to research and protect them.

Our mission is to raise awareness and provide education on manta ray conservation through eco-minded thematic trips. Manta Expeditions offers both liveaboard and land-based dive and snorkel trips that focus specifically on getting our guests in close proximity to manta rays, whale sharks and other ‘wish list’ marine species, while imparting expert knowledge and skills.

The natural world is full of parasites, and large animals like manta rays offer the perfect micro-habitat for tiny animals to live on.

Are you in love with the ocean? Do you love the gentle giants like manta rays and whale sharks?

Dive to make a difference with Manta Trust

Rainbow Cheung
Marketing Cloud, Public Sector

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Dive to make a difference with Manta Trust

Rainbow CheungMarketing Cloud, Public Sector

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Rainbow Cheung
Marketing Cloud, Public Sector