Manta Pacific Research Foundation Conserving
By Karen Rose
”T
he world’s finest wilderness lies beneath the waves,” says marine life artist Wyland. Keller Laros, president of the Manta Pacific Research Foundation (MPRF), agrees. Keller and his wife Wendy founded MPRF in 2002 out of their passion for manta rays. The mission of this 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization is to study manta rays in their natural habitat, conduct scientific research, provide education programs for the public about manta rays and the marine environment, and to establish and promote global manta ray conservation. An underwater photographer, videographer, and certified SCUBA instructor, Keller had his first encounter with the Kona manta rays in 1985. “The summer after I graduated from college as a political science major I visited Kona with my family,” said Keller. “We went on a manta ray night dive with Jack's Diving Locker. After my experience with the night dive, I fell in love with manta rays. They’re that kind of animal. They really affected me, so I gave up the idea of being a lawyer to become a SCUBA instructor and move to Hawai‘i.” He moved to Kona in 1991 and started leading manta ray dives shortly after.
KeOlaMagazine.com | May-June 2018
How the Foundation Began “The manta dive started to become really popular and people kept asking all kinds of questions, like, ‘How long do manta rays live?’ and ‘How do you tell a male from a female?’,” Keller recounts. “Wendy and I sort of cobbled together whatever information we could find and created the PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) Manta Ray Scuba Diver course, which I taught at Jack’s Diving Locker.” It was during this time when Keller met an interested philanthropist on one of the dives he was leading. “It was late 2000 when one our passengers asked me how much money we needed for our research,” said Keller. “I asked him what he meant and he answered, ‘$10,000 or $100,000?’. I’d never had anyone ask me anything like that before.” At the time, the foundation was just an idea and not yet a nonprofit organization. Since the donor needed to make a donation before the end of the year, Keller suggested he support his friend, and later Manta Pacific scientific advisor, Tim Clark, who was set to begin his PhD at University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. Keller says, “Tim got his PhD funded, and it also gave me the impetus to complete the paperwork and requirements needed to become a nonprofit organization.” The support paid off, and today the Manta Pacific Research Foundation is led by a talented team of volunteers and supported by a community of people who are fueled by a passion for these magnificent creatures. Manta rays are one of the largest animals in the ocean. Hailing from tropical, subtropical, and temperate waters, their wingspans often reach over 20 feet across. In the Hawaiian 30 language, they are called hāhālua. The manta ray’s wide