Maldives' first deep-sea survey to explore marine life
This is the most technically varied and advanced mission ever undertaken in the Indian Ocean.
By
Mariyam Umna Ismail
UK-based Nekton Maldives Mission, in collaboration with the Maldivian government, is set to undertake the first ever systematic survey of ocean life in the Maldives.
In a statement, Nekton Maldives Mission said on Saturday that this survey of Maldivian ocean life will be conducted from the surface to 1000 metres deep. This is the first time anyone has surveyed to such depths of Maldivian waters.
Taking place between 4 September and 7 October, this Nekton Mission:
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Will deploy two of the most advanced human-occupied submersibles, robotic and autonomous systems, and more than a dozen research technologies.
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Ten Maldivian marine scientists will join the expedition to understand the patterns of biological life in deeper waters and the consequences of human activities on them.
The expedition involves a global alliance of 40 organisations with a scientific team drawn from the Maldives, UK, Seychelles, India, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Spain, Greece, Netherlands, and Ireland.
Ten Maldivian marine scientists have been selected to be the first Maldivian aquanauts to lead over 30 descents in the mission’s high-tech submersibles, with the first descent of the mission to be led by an all-women team.
President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih expressed his approval for this mission, saying that it will open opportunities to develop conservation and sustainable development policies, so that the oceans continue to protect and provide for the Maldivian people.
Fisheries minister Dr Hussain Rasheed Hassan said that Maldives being a country threatened by climate change, such an expedition is imperative to learning more about our marine structure and life. He also said that he hoped this endeavour would inspire other countries.
Nekton Mission's aims:
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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.
