A scuba diving instructor based on the island of Nusa Penida, off Bali, Indonesia, has been filmed heroically coming to the rescue of a manta ray entangled in a fishing net that had severely wounded one of its cephalic lobes.
Jason Fondis, manager of Blue Corner Dive Penida, was guiding two divers at Manta Point, a cleaning station at which reef manta ray (Mobula alfredi) sightings are an almost daily occurrence.
The group spotted the manta – a large female – circling the cleaning station with a large chunk of an abandoned fishing net covering one of its cephalic lobes and trailing underneath the animal’s body.
However, the group were initially unable to provide assistance as scuba divers are forbidden from entering the cleaning station when mantas are present.
‘It was frustrating, as the main rule we have is for divers not to enter the cleaning station and interrupt the mantas’ normal behaviour, and several mantas were cleaning at the time,’ said Fondis.
‘It’s also shallow on top of that part of the reef,’ he added, ‘which makes it dangerous as a lot of snorkel operators visit the site, and there would have been a real risk of getting hit by a propeller as they drop people right over the cleaning station.’
The team was running out of time to help as divers are expected to leave the area while heading to safety stop depth so that there is no risk of boats striking the animals during pickup.
‘One of my divers hit 70 bar and I was about to head away from the cleaning station when I saw a diver from another group signal to me that he was trying to help the manta, but couldn’t do anything as nobody in his team had a cutting device.
‘At the same time, the manta left the cleaning station, and once it was over the reef, I could do something, so I took out my scissors, moved over the top of the manta and started snipping away.
‘The net was tough and I could see it had been pulled into her flesh – I assume it was part of a bigger net and she managed to break free.
‘It was over her right eye, which would have made it difficult for her to see to avoid obstacles and make her more vulnerable to predation.
Throughout the encounter, the manta appears to remain calm and makes no attempt to flee, remaining close to the reef and even at one point appearing to deliberately turn towards Fondis so he can continue cutting the net.
‘She was brilliant and so calm, she went as slow as she could to let me cut the net. I had to peel some of it out of her cephalic fin with my fingers; I saw a little blood a few times and felt awful for her, but she never once flinched – it was amazing how she clearly knew I was helping.
‘Once I snipped the last bit free, I actually fist pumped the water, but my next thought was, “I have to find my divers and get out of here!”
‘Fortunately, I turned around and they were right there,’ said Fondis. ‘We had not travelled very far, but I was so focused on freeing her, I did not realise that she had been circling the same spot while I cut the net off her.
‘We had to leave as we had now reached 50 bar, but the most beautiful part was that for the entire safety stop, she gently circled beneath us. That safety stop was the most wholesome thing.’
This is the second time Fondis has found himself rescuing an entangled manta – he and fellow instructor Hélène Reynaud, co-owner of nearby Purple Dive Penida, were filmed heroically cutting fishing lines from an entangled manta at the same spot in 2020.
Nusa Penida is famous for its resident population of reef manta, which are present in numbers throughout the year. Watch the video of Jason freeing the manta below.
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