Established 2005
The Maldives Manta Conservation Programme (MMCP), formerly the Maldivian Manta Ray Project (MMRP), is a Maldives-registered charity focused on the research and conservation of manta rays. Our team is comprised of a diverse group of researchers, scientists, conservationists, educators and media experts; working together to share and promote knowledge and expertise.
At the end of 2025, we launched our Five-Year Plan; created by the MMCP operations team with guidance and input from our global network of affiliates and advisors. This document clearly defines our role in conserving manta and devil rays in the near and medium term. You can view and download it here:
Our community initiatives foster collaboration with local communities, engaging Maldivians through workshops, citizen science projects, and awareness campaigns to protect manta rays and their marine environment, promoting sustainable conservation efforts as a collective.
As one of the largest and longest standing manta ray research groups in the world, the MMCP employs advanced research techniques and collaborates globally to develop and implement effective conservation strategies grounded in robust scientific evidence.
Our education efforts inspire future conservationists by providing schools with interactive learning resources, organising field trips, and conducting educational outreach, fostering a deep connection between young Maldivians and their marine environment.
The Maldives Manta Conservation Programme (MMCP) consists of a country-wide network of researchers, educators, dive instructors, biologists, communities, and tourism operators, with roughly a dozen MMCP staff based across multiple atolls. Within these atolls, they conduct research from a combination of resort islands and local islands. On the map to the right, the dark atolls represent the focus study areas for the MMCP. However, our staff also regularly undertake research throughout the rest of the archipelago while onboard private research vessels and public liveaboard expeditions.
The MMCP collects data around the country's manta population, its movements, and how the environment and tourism / human interactions affect them. Since its inception, the project has identified over 6,000 different individual reef manta rays (Mobula alfredi), from more than 80,000 photo-ID sightings - many of which were submitted by members of the public via IDtheManta. This makes the Maldives reef manta population the largest, and one of the most intensively studied populations in the world. The project has also identified over 1,000 individual oceanic manta rays (Mobula birostris), most of which have come from Fuvahmulah Atoll.
The long-term and nationwide data collected by the MMCP has allowed researchers to record and identify key patterns within this population over time. Not only does this invaluable information improve our understanding of these animals, but it informs their on-going management and protection. Research driven by the MMCP has been fundamental to protecting manta rays and their most critical habitats within the Maldives, but has also played a significant role in gaining protection for populations in other corners of our oceans.
