Pippa Mozambique: Day 4 Manta Ray caught

A pregnant Manta ray was caught by gill net fishermen on Guinjata beach. It's illegal to catch mantas but the enforcement here is minimal. The manta was approximately 5.51 metres from wing to wing, 2 metres from nose to tail tip and 1/5 metre high. Zoë physically pulled the baby out of the womb of the dead animal but it was already dead too. The whole village came down to take their small share of the colossal creature. The only peace we took from this experience was that every last bit of the fish would be used. It becomes increasingly clear to me that trying to change these fishing methods is going to be very challenging, when the people who are fishing are literally doing this to feed their families- hand to mouth. Most of this practice is not out of greed but out of hunger.