Manta Ray Bay Resort & Yap Divers Celebrate Earth Day Every Day!

Apr 21, 2021

As we are facing a global crisis -- and as we are all doing our part to come together for the good of our world -- Earth Day takes on an even greater meaning. Billions of people come together each year to celebrate this day devoted to environmental protection and Mother Nature herself.

In honor of Earth Day, Gay Travel wishes to recognize one of our partners who doesn’t just “walk the walk, they talk the talk.” Our friends at Manta Ray Bay Resort & Yap Divers are committed to protecting the environment, not just today, but every day.

Yap, for those who may not know, is part of a collection of islands spread out over approximately 600 miles in the Pacific Ocean. The Yap Main Islands form a state in the Federated States of Micronesia. These lush, remote islands are surrounded by a coral reef and fringed by mangrove forests.

Photo Copyright: Andy Schumacher

Let's take a deep dive into what commitment to nature looks like in one of the most remote places in the world...

Manta Ray Bay Resort & Yap Divers’ Commitment to Sustainability

Since opening in 1986, Manta Ray Bay Resort & Yap Divers has been at the forefront of sustainability in the diving industry and Bill Acker has been reducing the carbon footprint of his operation since inception. Today is no different and the changes keep coming.

"Throughout the years, we initiated several ecology and marine environmental education programs and have teamed up with NGO’s around the world to facilitate scientific research on manta rays" says Bill Acker, founder, and owner of the Manta Ray Bay Resort & Yap Divers. Bill is passionate about ocean conservation and has taken a personal frontline position in the diving world by creating and promoting conservation and ecology educational events in Yap. "The manta presence is so strong that Yap State is a field research site for the Manta Trust Organization. Our rays are being identified, measured, and indexed in a custom database for the conservation of all Micronesian manta rays" states Acker.

Photo: Bill Acker in Action

Thanks to the Manta Ray Sanctuary program, started by Bill and backed by the State Government, all big animals benefit from habitat protection. A Yap state law enacted in 2013 protects sharks, whales, and dolphins. This shark sanctuary has been added to the world’s first government established Manta Ray Sanctuary established with Bill’s help in 2008. Yap has, in fact, led the world in setting aside 8,243 square miles comprised of 16 islands and atolls and 145 islets for conservation. In 2019, Manta Ray Bay Resort & Yap Divers partnered with the US-based Shark Conservation NGO in an educational program for high school students on Yap teaching the students about sharks and their importance for the eco-system.

On a global front, one silver lining of the current pandemic is less trash and plastic in the oceans and rivers and cleaner air. Acker's motto is “plastic less" when it comes to contributing to the use of more sustainable products to pack and serve their food and drinks. For example, they've initiated the use of wooden chopsticks, paper drinking straws, and reusable bento boxes for dive lunches. "We might not be able to end our relationship with plastic, but our operation is cutting every disposable plastic product we can from our daily program" Acker asserts.

One might associate an island like Yap with a “farmer’s paradise”, but in fact, growing fruits and vegetables is not as easy as you would think. The number of crops that have a continuous and reliable yield is limited to produce such as taro, yams, breadfruit, bananas, pumpkins, water spinach, and coconuts. Furthermore, the majority of the people on Yap grow their own crops in their garden while commercial farming is only done on a very small scale. Most of the island’s fruit and vegetables are imported. "In an effort to lower our carbon footprint even further, we started our own hydroponic greenhouse to produce salad greens for the restaurant. We have followed that initiative with a larger-scale garden planted with vegetables, fruit, and herbs. The reason is two-fold, use less imported produce, and offer our divers more local products. A wide range of products such as sweet potatoes, papayas, cassava, chestnuts, Japanese mangoes, breadfruits, mountain apples, cacao, soursop, jackfruit, bilimbi, moringa, lemon, and calamansi have been planted in this garden" Acker proudly informs us!

For all you beer lovers, you'll appreciate that spilling locally brewed Stone Money Beer is considered a sin. All you pizza lovers will be pleased to learn that the spent grain from the brewing process is reused to make bread, pizza crusts, and other various baked goods.

As far as the dive boats are concerned, Bill was among the first dive shops in the world to switch the entire fleet of dive boats from 2-stroke to 4-stroke engines.

The use of solar power has increased over time, too. When opened in March of 1990, the Manta Ray Bay Resort used solar for all its hot water needs. In early 2013, solar voltaic panels were installed on the roof to produce as much of the resorts’ power as space would provide. That project has been expanded many times and the inverters used have been upgraded to the latest available technology. The result is that today, the resort produces over half of its power via sunlight.

"So, from trying to be sustainable in our electricity needs, to supporting scientists in their research, to initiating marine sanctuaries for the animals we love to dive with, to growing their own produce, Manta Ray Bay Resort & Yap Divers try to contribute to keeping this world and its nature available for future generations to come."

A wish from Bill and the Manta Ray Bay Resort & Yap Divers to all the people hunkering down: "stay safe, and we will see you when this is all behind us!"

UNTIL THEN, DIVE INTO THE PHOTO GALLERY BELOW:

Sunset Skies on Yap
The Original Coral Reefers!
Turtle Teaches Diver to Take it Slow and Steady...
Shy Octopus Makes a Friend
Sea the Colors of the Rainbow!
Fins to the Left...Fins to the Right!

On behalf of GayTravel, thank you Manta Ray Bay Resort & Yap Divers for making us so proud to be your partner! On behalf of Gay Travelers around the world, thank you for being a model of inclusiveness and environmental protection! We look forward to diving back in as soon as we can!

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