ARCHIVED EVENT
![Manta ray underside](/images/made_new/images-events-Ken_Kurtis_ray_600_q85.jpg)
Journey to the Island of Yap: Stone Money, Massive Manta Rays, and More
Ken Kurtis
Journey to the Island of Yap: Stone Money, Massive Manta Rays, and More
Ken Kurtis
![Manta ray underside](/images/made_new/images-events-Ken_Kurtis_ray_900_q85.jpg)
Credit: Ken Kurtis/Aquarium of the Pacific
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![Ken Kurtis headshot](/images/made_new/images-events-Ken_Kurtis_headshot_900_q85.jpg)
Aquarium volunteer diver Ken Kurtis will share his stories, photos, and videos from his nearly twenty years of annual travels to the Pacific island of Yap, located between Guam and Palau. Yap is perhaps best known for stone money, which is still used as currency for some purchases, but is also known for its enormous Pacific manta rays, with wingspans of up to 18 feet. Yap has a diverse underwater ecosystem with a healthy population of sharks and reef fish, and even has an area where the tiny mandarinfish mate every night. Kurtis has been an Aquarium volunteer since 1998. He is a dive team leader at the Aquarium and a National Association of Underwater Instructors SCUBA instructor.