Panerai And Razer Team Up For Manta Ray Conservation Awareness

Panerai is an advocate for environmental conservation with profound ties to the marine world; now, they're joining forces with Singapore's gaming unicorn Razer to raise awareness on Manta Ray conservation

- Jonathan Ho 

PHYTOPLANKTON ARE PLANT-LIKE ORGANISMS that form the base of the ocean food chain and a crucial source of food and oxygen for many marine species. But too much plankton in the sea can lead to a phenomenon, known as a phytoplankton bloom, leading to “dead zones” because they consume large amounts of dissolved nutrients and generate large quantities of organic matter, which can deplete the oxygen levels in the water. This in turn leads to low oxygen levels that can kill marine life.

Furthermore, they outcompete other species for resources while producing toxins that harm marine life. So it’s important to monitor plankton populations in order to maintain a healthy and balanced ocean ecosystem.

Feeding on plankton, small fish and other invertebrates, manta rays play a key role in the ocean ecosystem by helping to regulate the populations of these species and maintain this necessary balance. Suffice it to say, it is a tricky job, after all, paraphrasing Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings, “even the wisest of us cannot see all ends”.

While they’re not the most popular or commonly understood of the sea creatures, they play such an outsized role in the process of carbon sequestration – the process of capturing and storing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere in order to reduce its concentration and mitigate the impacts of climate change. Estimates suggest that the oceans absorb approximately 25-30% of the total CO2 emissions produced by human activities, such as the burning of fossil fuels and most recently, cryptomining.