Everyone has heard the stories of the japanese attack against the whales in the arctic oceans, the dolphins in Taiji, and the finning of sharks through out the world but the story that has remained untold and hidden behind closed doors is the needless slaughter of the the amazing Manta Ray.

For those who have encountered a Manta Ray while exploring the worlds oceans knows just how amazing these creatures are. Sadly the Chinese feel that the dried gills of the Manta and Mobula Rays is worth more then encountering these creatures in the wild. The trade of the rays raker gills has grown out of the well established shark finning industry and is commonly conducted by the exact same people. 

Manta and Mobula Rays have always been hunted, the racker gills are sold on the  chinese market as a so called traditional chinese cure to the fever. However you will find absolutely no reference to this in any traditional chinese medical texts. More recently though demand on these amazing creatures has increased. With the increased attention on shark finning, the japanese market has started using Manta and Mobula racker gills as a filler in Shark Fin soup, allowing shark fin soup to be created using less shark fin and being replaced with an equally flavorless product of a creature that just as deserving of life as the worlds shark population. 

Recently SharkSavers, WildAid, The SilverCrest Foundation and BlueSphere Media started a joint project in documenting this massacre on our worlds oceans. The result of the investigation is a film that rivals "The Cove" titled Ray of Hope.

There is still time to put this practice to a stop before it becomes as tragic as the other more well known hunting actives that deplete our worlds ocean of amazing creatures. Currently there are no international laws, and only a small number of areas that protect these amazing creatures. The time to start spreading the word is now! For additional information visit http://www.mantarayofhope.com.