Komodo Manta Tourism: What Research Says About Crowding

From fishing ground to tourism icon

Komodo's reef manta rays have lived through two very different pressures. In the 1990s and early 2000s, mantas were heavily fished in Indonesia, which ranked among the top five mobulid fishing nations. Manta fishing was then banned in Komodo National Park and its surroundings in 2013, and in 2014 both manta species were protected across Indonesia's whole exclusive economic zone. The country's manta tourism was estimated to be worth over US$10.6 million a year, one of the incentives for that protection, according to a long-term study published in PeerJ in 2022.

Protection worked in one way: the mantas became safer and easier to find, and more people came to see them. The same long-term study that identified 1,085 individual reef mantas in the park also measured something less visible, the rising number of boats above them.

What the research measured

General tourist numbers in the park grew more than five-fold, from 30,000 in 1996 to more than 175,000 in 2018, and doubled between 2014 (80,626) and 2018 (171,830), according to park office figures cited by the researchers. Trained observers also counted boats on manta dives. At the two central sites closest to Labuan Bajo, Karang Makassar and Mawan, the number of tour boats per survey rose by a combined 34% from 2014 to 2017.

The detail is more telling. At Karang Makassar, the average rose from 5.8 to 7.7 boats per survey, a 33% increase. At Mawan it rose from 1.8 to 3.4, an 81% increase. In July and August, boat numbers at Karang Makassar were 102% higher than the rest of the year, averaging 12.3 boats, and 50% higher at Mawan. The northern channel of Cauldron averaged 2.6 boats per survey, but on two days in August 2017 observers counted 10 and 14 boats. Only the remote southern site, Manta Alley, stayed relatively stable.

Why crowding matters to a manta

The concern is not only comfort for divers. Mantas show strong loyalty to particular sites, and the central sites receive the bulk of visits, so the same animals can face chronic disturbance. Cleaning gives mantas a vital health service, removing parasites and helping wounds heal, and cleaning stations likely act as hubs for courtship too. The authors warn that too many boats and divers could reduce the quality or length of cleaning visits, with possible effects on individual health and even on the wider population.

They also describe what they saw in the water. Mawan's cleaning station is especially small, and divers commonly overcrowded it in July and August. Boats dropping off and picking up divers often drove over the shallow reef, and the noise startled cleaning rays. More boats in feeding areas also raise the risk of propeller strikes. When the park limited boats and divers at Karang Makassar in September 2019, the authors foresaw that pressure might simply move to nearby Mawan, and they warned that 10 or more boats at a time in Cauldron's narrow channel, without strict codes of conduct, would likely have a substantial impact on feeding mantas. We look at what each site is used for in what Komodo's rays are actually doing.

Tourism is not the only pressure

About 5% of identified mantas, 56 individuals, had injuries from fishing gear, fewer than the 14% recorded in the Nusa Penida Marine Protected Area. Gillnets, long-lines and blast fishing are banned inside the park, but the authors report that non-compliance occurs and call it an urgent threat. Plastic is another. In a 2019 study by the same research team, trawl surveys at Karang Makassar suggested a feeding manta could swallow about 25 plastic pieces an hour in the wet season and about 21 in the dry season.

What researchers asked for, and what followed

The study ended with seven recommendations: count daily boats and visitors at all popular manta sites; estimate carrying capacity for each, considering site size, manta behaviour, coral, noise and safety; limit boat speeds and set minimum distances from feeding mantas and cleaning stations; mark no-entry zones at cleaning stations such as Mawan and Manta Alley; display a code of conduct and require verbal briefings; check compliance through ranger visits; and involve the tourism community in citizen science.

The Komodo National Park office's own protocol now forbids touching animals or getting too close, dropping anchor in manta habitat or along manta routes, and speeding near dive sites. Indonesia's Ministry of Forestry has also set a quota of 1,000 visitors a day, in force since 1 April 2026, covering Komodo, Rinca and Padar islands and 23 surrounding dive sites. The minister linked it to research showing that long-term overtourism leads to habitat degradation. We explain what it means for divers in the Komodo National Park quota. Whether these measures are enough for the mantas is not yet known: the researchers note that the impact of tourism at cleaning stations has yet to be tested with abundance data.

How to experience it respectfully

The simplest thing you can do is choose an operator that treats manta sites as habitat, not as a stop on a schedule. Ask whether they avoid peak hours at busy sites, how many divers join each boat, and whether their boats use moorings rather than anchors. In the water, follow the Manta Trust's code of conduct: enter quietly no closer than 10 m, stay at least 3 m away, let the manta come to you, never chase or touch, and stay at the side of cleaning stations. Wildlife encounters are unpredictable. Diving and snorkelling with manta rays should always follow local regulations and experienced professional guidance.

If you photograph a manta's belly, ask your guide how to share it. Much of the Komodo research was built on photographs from trained dive staff and ordinary divers. Your holiday picture can become part of the record that helps protect these sites. A simple underwater camera is enough for a clear ID shot, as long as you take it from where you already are and never swim closer for it. On a boat day, a roll-top dry bag keeps the camera, phone and a warm layer dry between dives, and a long-sleeved rash guard protects you from the sun on the long surface intervals.

Questions people ask

When you are ready to plan, our Indonesia Ocean Atlas and reef manta ray page are a calm place to begin.

If this made you curious about meeting the ocean this way, you can explore our upcoming retreats.

Wildlife encounters are never guaranteed and never forced. Ocean Calling works only with vetted, ethical local operators, and every animal is free to approach, or not, entirely on its own terms.