Marine Life & Conservation
Maldives in Macro (Watch Video)
Our second week in the Maldives was spent in relative luxury on the beautiful island of Helengeli – home to the Oblu by Atmosphere resort. The resort is just a 50 minute transfer from Male, found at the top of the North Male Atoll. Because we had been so spoilt by the incredible encounters with large pelagics on blue Voyager, we opted to spend the week at a much slower pace when it came to the diving here.
Our enigmatic, affable and all round nice-guy guide Sergio offered us some amazing trips to see Manta, Sharks and a number of day trips to see cool ‘big’ stuff; when in reality all we really wanted to do was get our macro lens out and spend a few dives scouring a small area looking for tiny critters.
As luck would have it, our new Catalonian friend (he clearly stated on numerous occasions he is from Barcelona – not Spain) is a talented photographer and loves nothing better than diving with his impressive Sagadive macro lens. We were spoilt rotten again! Sergio happily spent every dive pointing out critters that were literally impossible to see with the naked eye. How he even knew where to look was beyond me!
We had everything from Ornate Ghost Pipefish and Frogfish, to Costaciella (Shaun the Sheep Nudi) and the mind blowing ‘Psychedelic Batwing Nudi’. Now these Nudibranch are just crazy tiny – we’d seen pictures before from some of the pros out there, but never in our lives did we imagine them to be so, well… small!!
You’d literally have better luck trying to video a flapping wing on the back of a fly!
The concentration and steady hand that was required was mentally draining, but I came home from that trip with a new appreciation for just how hard trying to capture any kind of video is, when there is a stiff current and your subject is smaller than a grain of sand!
We can’t recommend the resort highly enough but at the top of my list of plaudits is the Maldives in general. An amazing trip where we saw the biggest fish in the world, to one of the smallest critters you can find in any ocean. To say we are in love with the Maldives is an understatement and we absolutely can NOT wait to return!!
Next week: Moray Madness…
For more from Richard and Hayley visit www.blackmantaphotography.com.
The Shark Trust is excited to announce that, for two more days only, all donations, large or small, will be doubled in the Big Give Green Match Fund!
Donate to Basking in Nature: Sighting Giants
The Shark Trust is hoping to raise £10k which will be doubled to £20k. This will go towards Basking in Nature: Sighting Giants. And they need YOUR help to reach they’re goal.
The Shark Trust’s citizen science project is to monitor and assess basking sharks through sightings; encouraging data collection, community engagement, and promoting nature accessibility. This initiative aims to enhance health and wellbeing by fostering a deeper connection with British Sharks.
Campaign Aims
- Increase citizen science reporting of Basking Sharks and other shark sightings to help inform shark and ray conservation.
- Provide educational talks about the diverse range of sharks and rays in British waters and accessible identification guides!
- Create engaging and fun information panels on how to ID the amazing sharks and rays we have on our doorstep! These can be used on coastal paths around the Southwest. With activities and information on how you can make a difference for sharks and rays!
- Promote mental wellbeing through increasing time in nature and discovering the wonders beneath the waves!
Donate, and double your impact. Click Here
Marine Life & Conservation
Leading UK-based shark conservation charity, the Shark Trust, is delighted to announce tour operator Diverse Travel as a Corporate Patron
Corporate Patrons provide a valuable boost to the work of The Shark Trust. The Trust team works globally to safeguard the future of sharks, and their close cousins, the skates and rays, engaging with a global network of scientists, policymakers, conservation professionals, businesses and supporters to further shark conservation.
Specialist tour operator Diverse Travel has operated since 2014 and is committed to offering its guests high quality, sustainable scuba diving holidays worldwide. Working together with the Shark Trust will enable both organisations to widen engagement and encourage divers and snorkellers to actively get involved in shark conservation.
“Sharks are truly at the heart of every diver and at Diverse Travel, we absolutely share that passion. There is nothing like seeing a shark in the wild – it’s a moment that stays with you forever!” says Holly Bredin, Sales & Marketing Manager, Diverse Travel.
“We’re delighted to celebrate our 10th year of business by becoming a Corporate Patron of the Shark Trust. This is an exciting partnership for Diverse and our guests. We will be donating on behalf of every person who books a holiday with us to contribute towards their vital shark conservation initiatives around the world. We will also be working together with the Trust to inspire divers, snorkellers and other travellers to take an active role – at home and abroad – in citizen science projects and other activities.”
Paul Cox, CEO of The Shark Trust, said:
“It’s an exciting partnership and we’re thrilled to be working with Diverse Travel to enable more divers and travellers to get involved with sharks and shark conservation. Sharks face considerable conservation challenges but, through collaboration and collective action, we can secure a brighter future for sharks and their ocean home. This new partnership takes us one more valuable step towards that goal.”
For more information about the Shark Trust visit their website here.
For more about Diverse Travel click here.
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