Emerging from the deep blue, a graceful shape glided silently towards me. My pulse quickened as I realized I was about to meet my first manta ray in its natural environment. Hands trembling, I aimed my video camera and began rolling.

I was diving Small Dos Amigos, a dive site just off Cocos Island in Costa Rica. A last-minute opening had given me an opportunity to join a group of divers from Choo Choo Dive Center in Tennessee onboard the M/V Argo, a liveaboard operated by the Undersea Hunter Group. The diving had been spectacular with sightings of hammerheads, dolphins, turtles and abundant marine life. On this dive I was excited about the prospect of realizing an ambition: meeting a manta ray in the wild.

But what I saw next transformed my excitement to a tight knot in my stomach. Sunlight glinted on a shiny hook embedded just above the manta’s mouth, while thick fishing line coiled around the creature from head to tail, and trailed behind in a tangled web. The manta’s mouth had been gouged by deep, painful grooves where it had struggled in vain to open its mouth to feed.

Turning into the current, this magnificent creature swam along the wall and slowly disappeared from view, trailing its burden. I felt sick.

Further along the reef, and unbeknown to me, the manta encountered more divers from my group, including our divemaster, Jojo. On this trip, Jojo had forgotten his dive knife at home, a 36-hour boat journey away. But, as though foreshadowing what was to come, Jojo had discovered a dive knife abandoned on the seafloor only the previous day.

A diver’s misfortune became a manta’s salvation, as Jojo raced forward and began cutting away the tangled web. Later, back on board, Jojo would reflect, “It was meant to be.”

Back along the reef, and still feeling sick, I filmed an eagle ray. But I was lost in melancholy brooding, and my heart failed to register the creatures I normally find so exciting. After a while, I noticed Jojo drifting back towards me. Suddenly he pointed, and I peered into the blue.

Once again the manta soared into view. As it drew closer, I could see that much of the line had been cut free. My excitement returned tenfold! The manta swam to Jojo and, as I filmed, he was able to cut away the remaining line. He left only the hook, worried that removing it might cause more harm than good.

I will remember what happened next for the rest of my life. Gliding close enough to touch, and at times pausing eye to eye, the manta swam beside Jojo and me. He returned time after time with, it seemed to me, an invigorated bounce in his step. Free!

My heart raced! It was as though the manta knew.

But what he could not know was what had led to this manta rescue in the first place. That the species that had helped to free him, were also responsible for his entrapment. A quick search on YouTube revealed other rescues; sadly, this was not an isolated incident.

Mantas feed on plankton, mouth gaping, looping through the water. If they are snared by a hook this looping causes the line to wrap around them. In tragic irony, the act of feeding starves them.

Back on board, the crew of the M/V Argo lamented the fishing practices around Cocos Island, a protected Marine Sanctuary. They told of vessels sneaking inside the protected waters, knowing they could easily escape from the under resourced Costa Rican rangers. They shared stories of fishermen cutting and abandoning their longlines to avoid capture by the police, and of under-the-table deals with foreign fishing fleets that have no vested interest in the sustainable future of local resources.

Of course Man has an impact on the marine ecosystem; all creatures affect their environment. But for me, seeing these impacts first hand has made them all the more poignant.

I hope that by sharing this story and video, it will help to raise awareness about the issues facing our oceans. It is harder to ignore things when we see them and know about them first hand. By sharing stories such as this one, I’d like to think that we can all help to create the future we want for our oceans.

For we all have a role to play. We can all choose to buy or consume products from companies who are committed to sustaining the world we depend on. We should all experience nature ourselves, and take photos and videos that give a face to the creatures we share our planet with. And we should all give a voice to the plight of our oceans.

As I sit at home writing this story, I’m running one hand absent-mindedly through a heavy roll of fishing line. Line that once bound a manta. Line that, had Jojo and his salvaged knife not been present, may have doomed a majestic creature to starvation.

I’m smiling to myself as I remember…the One that Got Away.

(Ed: Thanks for sharing this heartwarming story of a dramatic manta rescue. Well done Jojo, the crew of Undersea Hunter’s M/V Argo, and divers from Choo Choo Dive Center for your quick thinking and selfless efforts to free this manta.)

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  Trailing his burden. © Steve Newman.

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  Wrapped from head to toe. © Steve Newman.

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  Deep gouges. © Steve Newman.

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  Mouth pinned closed. © Steve Newman.

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  Jojo begins untangling the lines. © Steve Newman.