Six Senses Laamu Had A Busy Month In The Marine Conservation & Sustainability Front

Monday 12th of September 2022

Six Senses Laamu pushes through with their sustainability initiatives with the month of August reigning in fresh new efforts. Take a look at what the resort has been up to in the previous month.

4th Maldives Marine Science Symposium 2022

During the symposium, the Maldives Underwater Initiative (MUI) team presented 12 presentations, the largest number from any one area. The presentations were centered around research and efforts conducted to further understand the marine environment of the Atoll.

One noteworthy research that was presented include the Coral Spawning research. This research provides valuable information about the reproductive patterns of tagged and monitored colonies of house reefs in Laamu, giving an insight to coral reproductive cycles in the province.

Coral Recruitment Project

In August, the project aims to understand the recruitment level of coral reefs to identify whether natural recovery is taking place. This in turn provides a baseline for recruitment in Laamu and will influence other sustainability projects at the resort.

International Whale Shark Day

On August 30th , Whale Shark Day was celebrated at Six Senses Laamu by conducting numerous activities. This includes online quizzes about whale sharks and creating awareness about the species through stalls set to educate guests. During these information sessions, guests were informed about the creatures as well as the need for protecting them. The day was concluded with an exclusive VR experience for guests and a whale shark naming contest.

Fushi Friday

This weekly dive event takes place at the lively dive spot, Fushi Kandu. As a protected area, the Manta Trust has deployed time-lapse cameras into the site allowing to capture photographic information about Manta Rays in the site. The data collected would assist the team in conducting long-term studies targeted at seasonality and movements of Mantas in Laamu.

Expansion of Laamaseelu Masveriya

New fishermen had been hired into the Laamaseelu Masveriya program from the islands of Fonadhoo and Maamendhoo. The fishermen were introduced to the code of conduct of the program and familiarized with the data collection process. By expanding the scope of the program, the team is increasing transparency and traceability of fishing in the atoll.

Turtle Nest Excavation

Due to storm surges in July, numerous nest sites in the island were flooded. With the authority of a special permit from EPA, the nests were excavated for research purposes and data collection. This includes data on depth of nests, total number of eggs, unusual findings and cause of unsuccessful hatching. Afterwards, the eggs were re-buried in their nests.