AQUACULTURE – also, see our project page: Sustainable Food Sources – from Fish Farm to Plate

• Microalgae (Spirulina platensis) – During August, our Spirulina project progressed from small-scale culture evaluation towards regular production for future use in the resort’s restaurant. Towards the end of the month, Spirulina production was initiated using different culture formats, including bags, buckets and flasks, to evaluate and optimise the most suitable methods for maintaining continuous biomass production. The harvested Spirulina was collected, dehydrated, and stored in dry form in preparation for its delivery to the resort restaurant starting in September.
• Sea Grapes (Caulerpa racemosa) – A monthly restructuring of the culture was carried out to maintain optimal growing conditions and improve the overall organisation and appearance of the cultivation area. Regular daily deliveries to the resort kitchens continued throughout the month (50g main kitchen, plus 100g for Blu Restaurant) giving a monthly total of 5.6kg sea grapes supplied during August.
• Elkhorn Sea Moss (Kappaphycus alvarezii) – The culture in our lagoon sea pen provides increased water circulation and greater depth, but the algae continue to be affected by epiphytic organisms and grazing pressure from marine organisms.

GROUPER GROW-OUT (Epinephelus fuscoguttatus)

Land Aquaculture (Tanks) – stable throughout August, with the fish continuing to grow under consistent water quality and system conditions; we supplied 21 groupers to Blue Kitchen for use in dishes on the menu.

GUEST EXCURSIONS

At Kuda Huraa during August, a total of 406 guests enjoyed 48 different excursions to 5 different marine sites in the area, where we recorded 11 different megafauna species.

At Landaa Giraavaru, we conducted 15 guided tours of our Marine Discovery Centre for a total of 35 guests representing 8 different nationalities. We also conducted 30 guided snorkel excursions this month, enjoyed by 171 guests. Across 11 separate Dolphin Cruises for 189 guests, we recorded sightings of 280 individuals across 3 different species of dolphin.

EDUCATION & AWARENESS

Summer Camp – For this year’s Marine Summer Camp, our Kuda Huraa team conducted various activities: Coral Care Expedition, Tide Pool Discovery at Vaboh Huraa, Island Nature Walk, Reef House Snorkelling Expedition, Dolphin Research Experience, Ocean Stories With Experts, Blue Hole Snorkel, Reef Fish Safari, Sunrise Reef Snorkel, and Marine Bingo.

Junior Marine Savers – August was a busy month at Kuda Huraa, with seven curious Junior Marine Savers joining our educational sessions. The young participants threw themselves into learning about ocean ecosystems, discovering the vital connections between coral reefs, sea turtles and humans. Our turtle patient Giri received some excellent target-training, and coral frames were built during various hands-on activities. The morning snorkels proved particularly unforgettable this month, with highlights including our resident hawksbill turtle ‘Maggie’ in the channel, along with a rare encounter with two baby tawny nurse sharks tucked under rocky structure in the reef shallows. Inspiring young ambassadors to cherish and safeguard marine life remains one of the most rewarding aspects of our work. Equipped with new knowledge and experiences, these youngsters leave ready to champion ocean protection among their families and friends.

SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCE & SYMPOSIUM

In August, we had the opportunity to participate in two scientific conferences and present our project, “From Fingerlings to Plate: An Integrated Multi-Trophic Approach to Grouper Aquaculture.”
– On 5–6 August, we participated in the 6th Maldives Marine Science Symposium, hosted by the Maldives Marine Research Institute (MMRI). Together with the wider Reefscapers team, we presented our integrated aquaculture project, highlighting our ongoing work on sustainable grouper aquaculture and the integration of complementary biological systems.
– On 18–19 August, we presented the same project at Theveli, under the theme of “Transformative Innovation in the 21st Century: Science, Technology, and Society.”

Many thanks to the organisers for such great events, and for sharing your official photos with us (as featured throughout this page).

Spotlight on the pink whipray (Himantura fai)

The pink whipray is a large species of stingray that can reach sizes of 1.8m wide. They have a wide but poorly understood distribution across the Indo-Pacific. A predator of benthic crustaceans, molluscs, and occasionally cephalopods and teleost fish, these elasmobranchs utilise their highly developed mechano- and electroreceptive sensory systems to locate prey hidden in sand. Closely associated with coral reef and shallow lagoon habitats, these bold rays are a frequent sighting on our snorkel trips to Embudhoo and Tuna Pass, often in large numbers.

Acoustic telemetry studies conducted in French Polynesia revealed this species to have a small home range, and to be highly conditioned to anthropogenic activity at provisioning sites. Being not just an ecologically important species, they are a large part of marine life tourism in the Maldives. Therefore, we are keeping a close eye on their health and populations and it is always fascinating to spend time in the water with them, observing sex ratio, size, and behaviours. We typically see a relatively even split of males and females, however on some occasions, aggregations may be dominated by one sex. There have been several sightings of pregnant females this month, although their life history remains vastly understudied. (Remoras use large host animals such as sharks and rays for protection and scavenging scraps.)