In this ongoing series, we speak to the people who run dive centres, resorts and liveaboards from around the world about their businesses and the diving they have to offer…

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What is your name?

Adam Abdul Raheem but people call me Dhaanu.

What is the name of your business?

Maldivers Diving Centre.

What is your role within the business?

Dive Centre Manager and a Director of the company.

How long has the business operated for?

Maldivers has been operating since 1999 but we moved to Maalhos in 2017.

How long have you dived for, and what qualification are you?

Diving for over 13 years. Currently an SSI Divemaster Instructor.

What is your favorite type of diving?

I enjoy all types of diving. I like to take my time while diving and find different sorts of animals, and learn about them.

If you could tell people one thing about your business (or maybe more!) to make them want to visit you what would it be?

Dive local! We are a dive centre on a local island in the Maldives. You get to experience the actual Maldives. We are passionate about sharing the underwater world with all those who come our way.

What is your favorite dive in your location and why?

Dhonfan Thila in Baa Atoll. It is a small pinnacle and the marine life there is quite diverse. You can see both types of turtles, Sharks, Rays and the coral life is nice as well.

What types of diving are available in your location?

We have dives suitable for divers with all experience levels. There are reefs which are suitable for more novice divers or for those who like to do relaxed dives, and pinnacle dives which are for more experienced divers. No matter what type of diving, the marine life is great and there are interesting things to see. Manta Rays can be seen regularly from April to November. Sharks can be seen even at our island’s house reef.

What do you find most rewarding about your current role?

I’ve worked as a divemaster and dive instructor for several different companies. I am able to use what I’ve learnt in operating Maldivers. I get to see everything first hand and apply a personal touch. We aim to run the place exactly how we want a dive centre to operate: safety conscious and oriented towards meeting the wishes of our divers.

What is your favorite underwater creature?

The Manta Ray. I could spend all day just observing them swimming around. But I do love and appreciate all marine life. I try to go out every day to the sea even if there are no divers or snorkelers going out with us.

Are there any exciting changes / developments coming up in the near future?

The community at Maalhos is working to become more environmentally friendly. Several key steps have been taken in doing so such as reducing the amount of single-use plastic that is on the island by operating a water plant that gives out water in reusable glass bottles and reducing household waste. Maalhos recently got an award for being the Leading Eco Island in the Maldives.

We plan to run dive courses specially catered for those who want to get into diving as a career. We would like to provide them with all the support needed to do so to come over to Maalhos and train with us.

As a center what is the biggest problem you face at the moment?

Climate change is the biggest problem. The underwater world is changing so fast due to this. Some people expect all the reefs to be pristine and full of coral. But this is not the case. Some reefs in the Maldives are in bad condition due to coral bleaching. This being said, there are quite a few reefs which are healthy and in good condition. It is great that the atoll we are located in is a Biosphere Reserve and there is a degree of protection for the reefs here from different other stressors. Luckily fish life and other marine life is quite good.

Is your center involved in any environmental work?

Quite a few. We do beach and underwater clean-ups quite regularly. Sometimes every day. Whenever we go out on the beach we take a bag to collect any trash that washes up. Our divers and the locals like to join the clean-ups as well.

We do regular monitoring of Maalhos House Reef to check the health of the reef and the different fauna on the reef as well as do coastal monitoring to learn how the beach of the island moves with the changing seasons. The information we collect goes to a national database to become part of a larger pool of similar data that comes from all over the Maldives.

We are looking for more ways to be involved and to give back.

How do you see the SCUBA / Freediving / snorkeling industry overall? What changes would you make?

Divers, snorkelers and free divers see and understand all the changes that happen to the underwater world and we are happy that quite a few of them are strong advocates for conservation.

We would like to see more people (who do not dive or snorkel) go out and witness the underwater beauty so they would understand the importance of protecting and preserving what little is left of our natural world.

What would you say to our visitors to promote the diving you have to offer?

We aim to ensure all who visit our island home have a good time. We like to offer a personalised service to each person. All of our dives and snorkelling trips are done in small groups so that everyone can enjoy and we welcome people with all different experience and comfort levels to go out with us.

Where can our visitors find out more about your business? 

• Email: maalhos@maldivers.net
• Website: www.maldivers.net
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/maldiversdc
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/maldivers
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/maldiversdc