Not too long ago divers and snorkelers alike, noticed a decline in the number of sharks in the Maldivian waters. Shark, being an important creature in the balance of the marine food chain they are also a vital attraction for the Maldives in both tourism and fisheries sectors. August 2007, Soneva Fushi along with some other resorts in Baa Atoll region (where Soneva Fushi is located), initiated a conservation effort called Baa Atoll Project.

They aim to propose a nationwide ban on shark fishing in Maldives. Over the last few months the team has developed a number of awareness materials including posters and leaflets for educating local communities as well as guests. They have also initiated a series of high level talks with government authorities to convince them of detrimental effects of this to the tourism and fishing industries and authorities had expressed concern on the issue. A petition against shark fishing was developed by the team, and several resorts, dive centers and even tour operators worldwide have expressed concern on the issue to the government.

As a result government has also now initiated a poster campaign targeted to local fisherman to discourage shark fishing in the Maldives. Soneva Fushi also funded a TV campaign targeted to local fisherman to educate them on the effects of shark fishing in the Maldives.

(1.68 MB) Baa Atoll Project overview
(800 KB) Baa Atoll Project Leaflet April 2008
(789 KB) Fishing Trip Chart
(615 KB) Sharks at Risk poster
(49 KB) Shark Conservation in Maldives

Due to the geographical nature of Soneva Gili, and characters the island lagoon, coral growth has been lacking for many years. Most of the lagoon has a sandy bottom, with few coral patches. Currently, Soneva Gili is doing a project to regenerate the coral in more places in the lagoon, which in turn will increase the marine life activity and will bring natural biodiversity to the lagoon. Seamarc, a French consultancy company with several years of implanting such projects at various locations in Maldives is now working with Soneva Gili to regenerate the coral in the island lagoon.

It is a non intrusive method, where they place a number of ‘trays’ on the sandy bottom with fragments of coral pieces attached to it which then grow to form coral colonies in the areas where they are located. Due to the fragile nature of coral colonies and the sensitivity of it to the conditions of the lagoon, two coral nurseries are also being set up.

In the nursery coral trays will first be set up until they show some signs of healthy growth before they are placed on different places in the lagoon. The project started in March 2008, and is expect to continue for a period of four months as a trial period. The project will then be further extended depending on the results they show. At present some 50 trays have been installed at various locations and coral have started settling on them.

(72 KB) Coral Reef Regeneration