Conservation of giant Manta Rays in Northern Peru
Project Leader
The giant manta ray (Mobula birostris) is an endangered species increasingly threatened by bycatch in northern Peru’s small-scale fisheries. This project seeks to reduce manta bycatch and advance conservation by combining eco-tourism, fisher-led monitoring, practical bycatch solutions, and community awareness in a critical region of the Tropical Eastern Pacific.
The Threat to Giant Manta Rays
The giant manta ray (Mobula birostris) is an iconic and endangered species, with populations declining worldwide. In northern Peru, giant mantas are often incidentally entangled in small-scale fisheries, putting additional pressure on an already vulnerable species.
PROJECT LEADER
Kerstin Forsberg
Kerstin Forsberg is a Peruvian conservation biologist and social entrepreneur, Founder and Director of Planeta Oceano, a non-profit empowering coastal communities through marine research, education, and sustainable development. She pioneered giant manta ray conservation in Peru, helped secure legal protection for sawfish, and established Northern Peru’s Marine Educators Network. Recognized globally, she is a Rolex Laureate, Ashoka Fellow, and World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, and has been named one of Fortune’s 50 Greatest Leaders and a TIME Next Generation Leader. Her work has been featured in multiple media outlets including the documentaries ‘Perpetual Planet: Heroes of the Ocean’ and ‘Kerstin and the Giant Manta Rays’, as well as in the children’s book Giant Rays of Hope. She is part of the World Economic Forum’s ‘Friends of Ocean Action’, a group of ocean leaders fast-tracking ocean solutions.
Our Conservation Approach
This project aims to advance manta conservation and reduce bycatch by:
-Supporting the reactivation of community-based manta ray eco-tourism in northern Peru,
-Expanding a participatory monitoring system for fishers to report manta ray and marine megafauna occurrences,
-Co-designing and delivering practical recommendations to mitigate manta bycatch, and
-Strengthening local awareness for manta conservation.
Together, these actions will protect giant mantas while supporting conservation in an ecologically important and economically challenged region of the Tropical Eastern Pacific.
Project Gallery
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