Hello! My name is Cath, and I am the new intern working here at Four Seasons Resort Kuda Huraa until the end of June. I recently completed my undergraduate degree studying Marine Biology at Portsmouth University and was delighted to be offered the opportunity to work here in this Maldivian paradise for 3 months!
Every day since I have arrived has been an adventure. As soon as I got into the office I was taken out to meet our gorgeous rehabilitation turtles – 4 Olive Ridleys who have been rescued from fishing nets, stuck floating at the ocean surface due to excess buoyancy. And then on to 16 baby Green Sea Turtle hatchlings that were rescued from a nest located very close to another resort, where their chances of survival were extremely low.
The first task that our resident turtle biologist, Jamie, gave me was to feed the juveniles a gourmet meal of fresh tuna, which we cut up into tiny pieces so the turtles can manage to fit each mouthful into their petite beaks. As for the adult turtles, learning their preferences has taken a little longer. While Shareefa turns her nose at the sight of lobster, the other rescue turtles fuss over anything that isn’t lobster or squid, and they all require a lot of patience when they realise we’ve tried to hide their medicine inside the food! On Tuesdays we also check the outward progress of the turtles, which means weighing and measuring them. Then of course, every day we care for them and redress their wounds as required. It has been a very strange experience for me to give eye drops to baby turtles with eye infections, just as you might do to a human patient!
Of course, turtles are not the only marine organisms that demand our attention here at the Marine Discovery Centre. It has been very educational shadowing our Coral Biologist, Matt, in his quest to propagate the coral reefs of North Malé atoll, which he carries out through our Reefscapers programme. Several years ago, the company Seamarc invented an innovative coral frame, which is a large steel structure spray-painted with sand. We attach small fragments of coral (between 41-106mm long, depending on frame size) to these frames and immerse them into the lagoon. We place them in locations around the island where coral cover is scarce, for example near rubble patches, to encourage fish recruitment. This is beneficial partly because of the increase in reef biodiversity, but also because certain species of fish act as ‘gardeners’ for these corals, eating away algae that may otherwise grow and compete with the coral.
Once the frame has been planted in the perfect position, we then monitor it, returning every 6 months to check on the success of the coral growth, taking photographic records which we upload to our website. As we have over 1600 frames, it’s a huge task but a fascinating one, as proven by the sharks, dwarf lionfish, adorable juvenile sweetlips and most recently a very funky octopus, who come to check out what we’re up to and watch us as we free-dive our way through the maze of frames.
Some of my favourite moments have been spent with our resort guests. Every day there are various adventure safaris, either to see sharks, dolphins, and turtles or just to explore the beautiful coral reefs and their fishy inhabitants. I have been giving marine biology presentations at our Centre, followed by escorting the guests on snorkelling trips. It’s a wonderful experience as we share underwater marine life encounters, and I have actually lost count of how many sharks, dolphins and turtles I’ve encountered since I arrived … and it’s magical every time.
Do you want to experience life as a marine biologist
here in the Maldives ?
Head over to our Employment page to read about the different ways you can work with us - full time, apprentice or intern.
And see more from our Interns in their very own words & photos as part of our Diary / Blog series.