Documenting Mobula Conservation Project’s tagging expedition, 2021. In the early 80s, fishermen from an artisanal yet prolific mobula ray fishery in Baja California, Mexico, began to collaborate with scientists on conserving the rays they previously fished. Today, almost 40 years later, the second generation of fishermen from this once thriving elasmobranch fishery find themselves following in their father’s footsteps; an essential cog in the scientific wheel in tagging mobula rays. Fusing expert fishing, locational and capture-release knowledge with scientific methodologies, the two brothers form an essential part of the mobula ray tagging project, where they work alongside scientists to study and protect these species.

All mobula rays pictured were successfully tagged and released.