Meet Edward, our Marine Biologist

Hi everyone! My name is Edward, and I am lucky enough to be the new Marine Biologist here at Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru.

Edward Hodges

Marine Biologist, Landaa Giraavaru

Edward graduated from the University of Exeter (UK) in 2021 with an MSc in Marine Vertebrate Ecology and Conservation. His dissertation focused on the impact of nest flooding on hatching success in green turtles on Ascension Island. He also has BSc degrees in Animal Science and Veterinary Conservation Medicine from the University of Liverpool (UK). Edward then trained as a PADI Divemaster, volunteered with nesting hawksbill turtles in Barbados, adult green turtles in Egypt, and worked as a supervisor for a volunteer program monitoring breeding leatherback turtles in Grenada.
In 2023, Edward is excited to join our Marine Savers team at Landaa, and is looking forward to blending his knowledge and experience in animal care and marine conservation with education outreach to resort guests and local communities.

My focus is caring for the turtle patients in our Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Centre. We currently have four residents – Frisbee, Maw, Artemis, and Xanchi, all of whom are victims of entanglement with ghost nets (discarded fishing gear) and suffering various injuries.

Xanchi is our most recent admission, and although he suffered injuries from his entanglement, some of which are still in the healing process, he has retained all his flippers and his diving ability. He can often be found resting comfortably on the bottom of his tank, giving us high hopes for a relatively rapid release, so watch this space!
Frisbee and Maw are also Olive Ridley turtles, both sadly missing two flippers as a result of their entanglement, and are categorised as “unreleasable” as they would not be able to survive in the ocean.
Artemis is our hawksbill turtle patient, missing her front right flipper.

Many of the rescue turtles that we admit to our Centre are suffering from buoyancy syndrome, a condition caused by trapped air under their carapace, which means they are unable to dive beneath the water surface. Turtles can recover from buoyancy syndrome, and we are trying to encourage diving behaviours, with Artemis especially putting in lots of effort!

Frisbee male Olive Ridley rescue turtle Maldives

Artemis rescue Hawksbill turtle Maldives

In addition to our adult turtles, we also have a several green turtle nests on Landaa, at various stages in their incubation – the first we have seen in several years! We are closely monitoring the nests, with a motion-sensing camera positioned to give us immediate notification of movement, enabling us to ensure the best possible chances for the hatchlings when they emerge, day or night!

I have only been at Landaa for a few weeks, but I am already loving the life here and learning so much. I recently passed my buggy driving test, and will soon be learning to pilot the whaler (small boat) so I can transport our patients to our ocean enclosure for the next stage in their rehabilitation process. Every time I enter the water for guest snorkel trips, the amount of biodiversity blows me away, and even in this short time I have been fortunate enough to spot lemon sharks, nurse sharks, hawksbill turtles, moray eels, eagle rays and more!

On my very first dolphin cruise, I was greeted by a pod of over 50 spinner dolphins, leaping and spinning out of the water, bow-riding the boat, and we even spotted a couple of calves with their mothers. Experiences like this are simply magical, and I can’t wait to visit the famous Hanifaru Bay to experience incredible feeding chains when manta season begins in May.

Photos: cleaning and repairing small holes in our large lagoon enclosure, for rehabilitating our injured turtle patients

Turtle rehabilitation ocean enclosure Maldives

Turtle rehabilitation enclosure Maldives [Edward]

If these first weeks have been anything to go by, my time here will be incredible, helped along the way by my fantastic new friends here at the Marine Discovery Centre, and my Resort work colleagues across Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru.

Hope to see you soon!
Edward 💙