November 2019

Luke Gordon only became Project Leader for Fiji in 2018 but he has hit the ground running and already achieved a great deal. This month we find out more about his journey!

Tell us about your first manta ray encounter

Funnily enough it was in Fiji ten years ago now! I was working in the east of the country, amongst a group of islands called the Lomaiviti group, an area where I actually collect a lot of data now. When I first arrived, there was talk of a bay just around the corner from where we were based that mantas would come to feed in the late afternoon, apparently in large numbers. A few days into my time there I was not disappointed, up to 15 mantas were feeding in a small shallow bay, somersaulting and surface feeding all over. It was a special experience, and one that I became used to while working there. Now, 10 years on, I am trying to get back to that remote bay so I can gather further data on the population that call this group of islands home.

What was your journey that led you to be Project Leader of Manta Project Fiji?

Since my first foray into diving on coral reefs back in 2008 in Madagascar I have been captivated by the ecosystem. I have been incredibly lucky to work in many beautiful places across the tropical Indo-Pacific on various conservation and research projects, from marine resource inventories in Madagascar & Fiji, to researching cryptobenthic fauna on SE Asia’s soft sediment habitats, to tagging humphead wrasse in Seychelles. Interestingly enough apart from my initial stint in Madagascar manta’s have always popped up in every location I have worked and played a role in many of the conservation and research projects I have been involved in.

In 2017 I spent time up close and personal with these amazing rays while helping out on the Manta Trust’s Seychelles Manta Ray Project run by Lauren Peel. This experience allowed me to gain invaluable research experience working with these rays and a much deeper appreciation of these incredible organisms, plus being in the water everyday concentrating on large charismatic megafauna species is not such a bad experience!

After Seychelles I began chatting to Dr. Guy Stevens about future possibilities and an opportunity arose in one of my favourite places on earth, the Fiji Islands. Having worked in the country for about 4 years previously I knew the country well, and where the mantas were to be found. I jumped at the chance to drive the project forward and further our knowledge of South Pacific’s manta rays.

What legacy would you like to leave in your field of research/conservation?

I would love to be part of the driving force which creates a holistic research and conservation project focusing on Fiji’s (and possibly the wider South Pacific) mobula populations. Some key parts I would love to achieve, would be to be able to build the projects capacity building ability in country, garnering enthusiasm and interest amongst young pacific island conservationists and scientists with the project offering the platform to build experience and knowledge. Ultimately resulting in a group of young mobula researchers and conservationists who can help reduce threats and protect these majestic rays across the South Pacific islands.

What is the most challenging part of your work?

Even though the project has been running since 2012, we are very much still in the early stages of developing what could be a truly great conservation success story. 2019 has been an incredibly successful year for the project, gathering more data than ever before and securing funds from various private companies and foundations for some very exciting research.

The biggest challenge right now is the sheer size of the Fiji Islands and the amount of funding currently available for the baseline day to day running of the project and data collection. We have only scraped the surface here in mobula research and conservation, large swaths of the country remained totally unexplored, and unfortunately right now little funding to change that.

However, if we can build on the successes of this year, I am very confident that we will have an even more successful 2020 across the board. Without the support from the valued members of the cyclone community much of this would not be possible, so thank you!

What is the most surprising thing you have learnt about manta/devil rays?

I would say probably their brain size and seeming intelligence. You can be told ‘this fish has the biggest brain’, but until you spend intimate time with these rays underwater you can’t really comprehend what this means, and we don’t totally. However, spending the most time in the water with mantas this year than I ever have has opened my eyes into their inquisitive and sometimes playful nature. I have been lucky enough to spend a vast amount of time with a population who have seemingly had very little contact with humans in the water, and you can really tell, it is a magical experience. They will come as close as they can, sometimes giving you a whack, they will even change course to check you out not bothered by your presence at all.

If you could ask people to do one thing to help - what would it be?

For the project here, spread the word, we want to gain as much exposure and traction as possible so we can firstly explore the population of this beautiful country in its entirety and then assist in the development of sustainable management strategies which will allow mantas and their cousins to thrive into the future.

Mantas offer a very unique opportunity to nation such as Fiji to build sustainable ecotourism around their presence, bringing a larger dollar value to the animal being alive when compared to being dead is a huge incentive for their protection. Without all of your involvement we wouldn’t be able to conduct the research which could make this possible. Spread the word, Manta Project Fiji, and if you are ever in this little South Pacific paradise reach out and learn how to have the best possible experience with some of the biggest pancake sharks around.