Every resort in the Maldives caters for scuba divers and international certificates of all types are accepted. The dive schools are well equipped, and regulators, BCDs, computers, masks, snorkels and fins are available for hire. For those learning to dive resorts offer a variety of dive courses are conducted in several languages, with courses conducted in English, German, Italian, French and Japanese in most of the For those learning to dive all resorts conduct open water and advanced courses such as night diving, rescue diving, underwater photography. Courses such as naturalist and shark specialist courses have proved most popular due to the growing interest in the marine environment. At resorts, diving is conducted daily all year around and it is only rarely that diving has to be cancelled. Most resorts would have access to a protected reef on the leeward side of the island that enables them to dive even during times of rough seas and strong winds.

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Steps have been taken to avoid over-exploitation of natural resources. Protected Marine Areas were established in 1995. This was the first step in protecting these areas from the detrimental effects of over-fishing, coral mining, anchor damage and rubbish. The killing of turtles, which is under threat of extinction, is banned and the export of turtle shells and products made of turtle shell is prohibited.

Sport fishing practiced by some islands is now confined to the tag and release method.

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Diving in the Maldives

The Maldives is certainly ranked as one of the best diving destinations of the world. There are certainly a few places on earth, if any, at which divers could see mantas, whale sharks, valleys of luscious soft corals, colourful gardens of hard corals, huge tunas, eagle rays, a 1000 species of fish around the reefs, countless species of invertebrates all within one week, diving in warm clear waters. The atolls of the Maldives are dotted with hundreds of dive sites with many more yet to be discovered. However, so far only a tiny part of the country has been explored by divers; thousands of kilometres of reef have still to yield up their long-garnered secrets. It is only in the atolls around Male’ that resorts have been opened, and only in these atolls is diving permitted.

Inside almost all the atolls are a complex formation of reefs. A number of these reefs are circular, enclosing a shallow lagoon, others are irregular and submerged. Some of the best dive sites are these submerged reefs called ‘thilas’, usually located in the middle of the channel. These rise from the atoll floor to within 10 metres of the surface.

Reef life is prolific – with the number of species of marine life estimated to be in their tens of thousands. The sharp-eyed diver would encounter species such as the frogfish, leaf fish, ghost pipefish and a multitude of nudibranchs. Whether it is the awesome manta ray, the graceful grey reef shark or the tiny, brightly coloured flatworm, the Maldives has it all.

Dhivehi terms
Atholhu – atoll Faru – a shallow reef that is exposed to the ocean, rises up from the ocean floor, often with surf breaking on it
Falhu – A shallow reef facing into the atoll
Thila – a coral reef just below the surface inside the atoll, rising from the atoll floor
Giri – A small area of submerged corals, much smaller than a thila
Vilu - the lagoon within a falhu, or faru, as oposed to the lagoon inside an atoll.

Prohibited to catch
Fishing and collection of the following are prohibited. Turtles, Napolean Wrasse, Dolphin, Whale Shark, Whale, Berried and small lobster, Conch, Giant Clam and Black Coral.

Prohibited for export The following items may not be exported in any form, be it souvenirs or products for commercial use: Turtle, Eel, Pufferfish, Parrotfish, Skate and Ray, Bigeye Scad under 15 cms (6 ins), Bait fish used in tuna fishery, Dolphin Whale, Lobster, All Stony Coral, Triton Shell, Trochus Shell Pearl Oyster and Black Coral.

Fish Feeding
The final objective of feeding the fish may simply be fun or to get close to them so that one can observe them closely. However this tends to be a one sided bargain, and therefore a bad idea causing great harm to the animals and altering their behavior. In areas where people have been feeding fish for years, behavioral deformations have been observed. Groupers and moray eels that were once inoffensive have become aggressive predators. In these areas, it has become not uncommon for fish to attack divers, causing serious wounds. Often feeders themselves have been bitten by sharks causing injury.

Moreover in most cases what is fed is radically different from their normal diet. Large humphead wrasses have died after being fed dozens of eggs. Large basses have been known to tear sacks of food right out of the feeder’s hand and devour the contents with the bag. The consequence of having indigestible matter in their digestive tracts can easily be imagined.

Shark feeding used to be a great attraction in the Maldives some time ago. Fortunately there is a greater understanding of the marine environment and its creatures and therefore this is almost non-existent at present.

Playing with the fish
The behavior of various life forms can be observed if you dive calmly and carefully with the right buoyancy. Breathe very slowly and move towards the creature in question, bit by bit- you will find that this way it is possible to observe, photograph or film it in its natural surroundings.

Divers and photographers often hold or seize fish or other species, often stroking them as a friendly gesture or to get them into a good position for a shot, or just for fun. Most fish have a very fine protective layer of mucus on their skin or scales. Stroking or touching the fish can damage this protection, even if it is done with the utmost care. Undesired parasites settle in, causing it great pain and discomfort. Similarly, dragging creatures out of their hiding places could cause stress on their bodies, causing impact lesions on the animal’s internal organs.

Divers have been known to ‘ride’ mantas or hold on to turtles as they swim, often mistakenly thinking that the creature also enjoys the company. However one can imagine the stress that this could cause them as they try to flee from the diver.