Nekton Maldives has completed the underwater survey of the Maldivian oceans. Through this survey they were able to acquire various important information in regards to the Maldivian seas as well as mapping an area underwater that is equivalent to that of the land mass of Maldives.
The survey was conducted in early September by scientists on a submersible named RV Odyssey in collaboration with the Government of Maldives and Nekton; the Marine Research Foundation of the United Kingdom. The project was carried out with a team of scientists on a submersible outside Laamu Atoll. There were two Maldivians in the lead during the trip.
A press conference has been held at the President's Office to provide information on the survey. Fisheries minister Dr. Hussain Rasheed Hassan, Nekton's CEO Oliver Steeds and British High Commissioner Karen Rosla, who played a key role in bringing Nekton to the Maldives, was also in attendance.
The survey's work was briefed by Marine Biologist at Maldives Marine Research Institute Mohamed Shimal and Principal Scientist Dr. Lucy Woodwall.
Minister Hussain Rasheed, who dived into the sea as part of the survey, said that in addition to the information taken by diving up to 500 meters in the submersible, a large number of information and samples were collected from underwater videos using a remote operated vehicle at 900 meters below sea level.
According to the Minister, the underwater area mapped from Male' Atoll to the south of Addu Atoll has been surveyed as part of the Nekton Mission. He further went on to state that the underwater area mapped out during the project is more than 300 square kilometers which is larger than the land mass of the entire Maldives.
While an area of 300 square kilometers mapped, the famous "Satho Rahaa", a deep sea mountain in Huvadhoo sea was also mapped during the survey. They spent about 12 hours to successfully map the size of the seamount, an information which had not been confirmed before. While the perimeter of the mountain is 15 nautical miles, it's depth is 1,500 meters.
He noted that Maldivian marine scientists and international scientists took part in the survey; most of them being scientists from countries situated in the Indian Ocean.
Minister Hussain Rasheed said that the next step will be to review the information gathered from the survey and discussions are underway to find a way to give priority to Maldivian scientists while researching the information in the UK. The Minister noted that 10 Maldivian scientists took part in the survey.
Nekton CEO Oliver Steeds said that Maldives would own all the data collected in the survey as previously agreed upon. He also said that all stages of the research was agreed to be carried out in collaboration with the Maldives.
Steeds also spoke about the structure of the beach lines that existed before the "last glacial maximum" 20,000 years ago at a depth of 120 meters and that when diving out of the atoll on the submersible, the same beach lines were identifiable.
Scientist Dr. Woodwall said videos taken throughout the survey had observed the presence of life at different depths and samples of some underwater organisms were also collected. Information has also been collected on the impact of human actions on the ocean.
The first step after the survey will be to identify all the marine life that was seen.
According to the government, the findings of the study will make it easier for the state to formulate policies on marine conservation and climate change in the Maldives.
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