President meets with deep sea expedition aquanauts
President Solih paid a surprise visit to the research vessel and reviewed the preliminary findings of the research.
By
Najaah Masood
President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on Monday met with the joint team of British organisation Nekton and local marine researchers who are undertaking the first deep sea expedition of the Maldives.
In a three-person ‘Omega Seamaster II’ submersible, three female aquanauts kicked off the research expedition on Sunday, diving 1000 metres below sea-level outside Laamu atoll to gather data on ocean health.
President Solih also was in Laamu atoll, attending the Viavathi Raajje symposium for local councillors.
President Solih paid a surprise visit to the research vessel and met with the Maldivian aquanauts in the project. All four of them had dived in the submersible at depths of 500 metres in the past two days.
The aquanauts team had presented their collected data to the president who was accompanied by environment minister Aminath Shauna and fisheries minister Dr Hussain Rasheed Hassan.
According to the Nekton Mission, the expedition involves a global alliance of 40 organisations with a scientific team that will be taking part in the survey from the Maldives, UK, Seychelles, India, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Spain, Greece, Netherlands, and Ireland.
The Nekton Maldives Mission:
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Determine the location, health and resilience of the coral reefs that are essential to life in the Maldives
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Investigate how ocean life adapted to historic rising sea levels caused by ice melt from the last Ice Age
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Explore the largely unknown and unprotected deep corals and reefs of the Rariphotic Zone, which act as a refuge to animals from shallower waters,
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Investigate the relative abundance of the 40 shark and 18 ray species at the apex of the food chain in the Maldives ocean, which act as a critical indicator of ocean health
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Conduct the first mapping survey of a subsea mountain in the Northern Indian Ocean.
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Use the latest submersible models and robotic systems that can carry humans to the depths of the ocean
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Along with a 'health check' on marine life, the survey will also provide important information to facilitate achieving the government's goal of protecting 20% of the Maldivian waters, which is about half of Germany
The mission's maiden voyage on Sunday was led by aquanaut Marine biologist Shafiya Naeem, the Director General at the Maldives Marine Research Institute, and her Research Assistant Farah Amjad. The dive was piloted by the third member of the crew, Kimly Do from the US.
