An inside look at the safety of Kona coast manta ray tours

HONOLULU (InvestigateTV) — Just before sunset, boats leave the pier at Keauhou Bay for one of Hawaii’s most popular tourist attractions.

The tourists are heading to swim with manta rays off the west coast of the Big Island’s Kona Coast.

Bill Murtagh owns the Nainoa and has been taking out small groups on manta ray tours for about a decade.

“On a regular basis, we’ll have about ten of us from tail that will come out,” he said.

The experience is magical.

Plankton are attracted to lights on board, creating a feast for the filter feeders. The mantas have no teeth or stingers - gentle giants in a graceful underwater dance with wingspans as wide as eight to 12 feet.

“They’re using the of solid logs that are on the front of their face to eat. They’re using them like big spoons to help push and funnel all that water and plankton into their mouth,” tour guides explain to visitors.

The tours have become so popular that some have complained about safety for both humans and manta rays. After concerns about safety and overcrowding, some want the tours shut down entirely.

Murtagh, too, is worried about safety with hundreds of people in the water at night during the busy season. But he believes it’s about operators acting responsibly rather than shutting down the experience entirely.

“They’re constantly talking about shutting it down or putting some heavy restrictions on it. And I just think there’s other ways to do it than that,” Murtagh said.

The state Land Department is proposing rules that boaters tie up to buoys rather than drift with engines on, saying spinning propellers may cause harm to the rays and swimmers. There’s been a year-long debate over potential rules and regulations for the tours.

Murtagh hopes boaters obey existing rules before it’s lights out for everyone.

For now, visitors come from all over the world to see the mantas, and tour groups come away with a deeper respect for Hawaii’s ocean wildlife.

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