Indonesia Manta Project - Salesforce Volunteers Expedition to Raja Ampat

May 2023

It was with much excitement and anticipation that the long-awaited Manta Expedition aboard SeaSafari in Raja Ampat, Indonesia kicked off with a global team of Salesforce staff in March this year. Salesforce Inc. is a software company that collaborates with the Manta Trust to offer exciting volunteer-time-off opportunities for their staff members, and the Salesforce team were lucky enough to head over to Indonesia for this trip. The Expedition was led by marine biologist Sarah Lewis from the Indonesian Manta Project, who has been studying the reef mantas - which include both chevron and melanistic (black) mantas in Raja Ampat for over 12 years.

With turquoise seas, hundreds of remote islands and the most diverse and colourful coral reefs on the planet, Raja Ampat is certainly the dive destination of a lifetime! The Expedition visited some of the more remote islands, including Misool, famous for its beautiful pinnacles and macro life hiding amongst the stunning fan corals. Although manta rays were the focus for the trip, the team were spoilt by crystal-clear visibility and incredible diversity of marine life and sheer numbers of fish. This is due to the concerted efforts of many dedicated NGOs, such as the Indonesian Manta Project, Misool Eco Resort and Yayasan Konservasi Indonesia working in partnership with the Indonesian Government.

One of the key aims of the trip was to monitor and collect manta ray data from some of the more remote regions in Raja Ampat which can only be reached by liveaboard. The team of sixteen Salesforce staff also took part in the Manta Trusts IDtheManta project to learn more about manta behaviour, ecology and conservation measures in this special part of Indonesia.

Watch the video below, with footage from Ken Chew, for exciting behind-the-scenes updates from the expedition!