Kona Town Manta Sunset Snorkel

Overview

Manta rays around the world exhibit a feeding behavior known as "barrel rolling." This involves the manta ray performing somersaults in the water to efficiently consume concentrated patches of plankton. By executing these graceful loops, mantas can remain in areas with abundant food, maximizing their intake.

In Kona, this behavior is particularly observable during night snorkeling excursions. Our tour guides will use bright lights to simulate the sun which attract photosynthetic phytoplankton. The phytoplankton in turn attracts zooplankton, which feed on the phytoplankton.

Manta rays feed primarily on zooplankton, therefore they are drawn to these illuminated areas to take advantage of the concentrated food source.