Take A Look Into Blue & Green Laamu’s Sustainable September

Wednesday 12th of October 2022

As always, the Maldives Underwater Initiative (MUI) has been busy during the month conducting and supporting various sustainability projects and activities. Have a look into some of the initiatives that took place in September.

Coral Recruitment Study

An intern at the resort has been conducting coral recruitment studies at Laamu with over 20 surveys in 10 different sites carried out last month. These sites included inner, outer, channel and faru reef types and aimed to measure the coral recruitment following bleaching events in the Maldives.

Through this research, a better understanding of the coral growth patterns in Laamu can be identified which will further aid in planning different health and recovery programs. A high coral recruitment depicts a positive image of a reviving coral reef.

World Manta Day

World Manta Day falls on September 17th of each year and the Manta Trust team in Laamu celebrated in style with a week-long fiesta. The week began with a special manta encounter VR experience for guests while the team provided updates about mantas in Laamu. The evening was concluded with a manta naming event.

This year’s manta day also fell on World Clean Up day, where the MUI visited Maabaidhoo island for a clean-up with 770kg of waste cleared. Following the clean-up, a VR experience was conducted for local community as well. During the week, a snorkeling excursion for kids was carried out and the week concluded with the MT team giving guests a presentation on ongoing research at Laamu.

Potential New Cleaning Station

The Deep Blue Divers and the team at Laamu has identified Fonadhoo Beyru as a potential cleaning station for manta rays. With regular sightings of the gentle creatures with three new appearances captured by the Eyes on the Reef, the possibility of a new cleaning station at around 24m is high.

2nd Laamaseelu Masveriya Meeting

The meeting discussed any alterations brought to the program and gave fishermen a platform to share their ideas. This ensures Six Senses Laamu can create a market for sustainably caught fish by deploying fishing methods that have minimal impact on coral reef ecosystems.

Surprise Hatching

The month of September also saw the surprise hatching of turtles. 30 live hatchings were rescued and released back to the beach safely by the Olive Ridley Project. This came as a surprise as the storm surges and beach erosion has left hardly any space for turtles to nest with low possibility of surviving hatchlings if nests were laid.

World Coconut Day

World Coconut Day was marked by local women from Kunahandhoo WDC visiting the resort and demonstrating the many uses of coconut. 25 guests and 15 hosts participated in this interactive event and saw how palm leaves were weaved, thatched and coir rope making among other things.