Hurawalhi Maldives’ Luxury Treading Lightly ethos lies at the heart of our resort and as part of our sustainability efforts, we work closely with Manta Trust. The resort’s marine centre is run in close cooperation with Prodivers Maldives and led by a Manta Trust resident marine biologist who carries out research on the Lhaviyani manta ray population and conducts workshops and trips for guests, and education programs for local schools. A visit to the marine centre is a ‘must’ for anyone interested in life in the ocean, the marine biologist is very happy to welcome guests and share their knowledge of the local marine life.

To get a wider understanding of the manta ray population in the Maldives, a team from Manta Trust recently conducted a research expedition to the northern atolls and the charity’s CEO and co-founder, Guy Stevens, shares what they did:

“The trip was a great success for the Manta Trust and presented an unprecedented opportunity to conduct an 18-day expedition with sixteen researchers in the Maldives. Highlights from the trip included surveying thirty-five manta sites, collecting 92 hours of remote camera imagery from manta sites, carrying out 53 hours of in-water surveys, identifying 28 new manta rays, conducting 20 ultrasound scans, taking 129 stereo-video photogrammetry measurements, and 3D mapping four cleaning stations. We also conducted education and outreach at six schools, reaching 335 students.”

Videos made on the expedition can be seen on the Manta Trust YouTube channel, here is the first in the series of 5: