In the Maldives, five of the world’s seven species of sea turtles can be found: greens, hawksbills, olive ridleys, loggerheads and leatherbacks. To preserve these precious keystone species, local resorts have joined forces with a variety of nonprofits dedicated to helping sea turtles not only survive the inherent challenges they face but thrive.

“Resorts can request for rescue training from our NGOs so they know what to do if they see an entangled turtle,” says Athif, a Maldivian turtle biologist from the Atoll Marine Conservation Centre (AMC) based at Six Senses Kanuhura. Athif originally hails from Kulhudhuffushi, the capital of Haa Dhaalu Atoll, in the north of the Maldives. “It is important to know what to do because the way people handle the situation can impact the fate of the injured turtle.”

Athif works with the local nonprofit AMC on Naifuru Island to help rescue and rehabilitate injured sea turtles and educate local populations on the importance of protecting these natural treasures. At the same time, he works with luxury resort Six Senses Kanuhura to teach guests about the turtles and generate support for AMC. This resort-NGO partnership is a common effort seen throughout the Maldives.

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“We offer a Turtle Safari for snorkelers with Ocean Wings Watersports, as well as underwater excursions through Deep Blue Divers PADI Five Star Dive Center to Kuredu Caves, the largest population site of green sea turtles in the Maldives,” says Athif. “We have a weekly sea turtle presentation for guests as well as in the kids’ club. Guests can arrange to visit the Atoll Marine Centre to meet the turtles we are rehabilitating and to see our facilities.”

An important consideration is ensuring the resort staff is also educated and prepared to help these special creatures. Athif presents educational sessions for Six Senses Kanuhura hosts and leads turtle snorkels and dives. Sea turtle nesting and rescue training is offered each month for new hosts. AMC offers training to resort staff across the region that covers specific protocols to follow if the turtle needs veterinary care, including how to contact AMC, methods for safely transporting a turtle and what to do if it needs to be kept overnight at the resort.

“We have nesting turtles at the resort. We make sure everyone understands what we can do to help. Light pollution can impact nesting turtles and hatchlings, so minimizing light on the beaches is a good idea or else turtles can get disorientated and can get lost in buildings or trees. When we have a nest hatch, guests can witness the hatching and nest excavation (examining nest contents) to determine hatchling numbers for our data.”

AMC has the first floating marine center in the Maldives and is home to several recovering turtles. Some were caught in ghost nets, hit by boats or had to have flippers amputated due to human carelessness and discarded human-made materials. The turtles are released back into the wild when fully rehabilitated.

The center focuses on turtles, but also invests in coral gardening and recycling plastics from the island through the nonprofit Parley Maldives. The center was originally opened in response to so many hatchlings being kept in containers as pets by locals.

“ALL TURTLE SPECIES, INCLUDING EGGS AND HATCHLINGS, ARE PROTECTED BY LAW.”

“All turtle species, including eggs and hatchlings, are protected by law. Keeping hatchlings for later release is not a good idea because it can reduce their energy to survive their long journey,” says Athif. “They need to imprint themselves on the beach so that they know to return back to the beach for nesting. If hatchlings are kept in tanks until they are grown, it can impact their behavior—like not knowing how to avoid predators.”

Thanks to local education, including a grade nine science curriculum, school Nature Clubs and an annual Turtle Fest, the problem of egg harvesting and poaching has been drastically reduced and the focus now is rehabbing injured adult turtles so they can make a speedy return to the sea. The final stop in their healing journey takes place in the Floating Marine Center, a sea station cage or netted enclosure in the ocean that allows turtles to practice diving in a more natural environment. Residents and guests from other resorts can visit during working hours.

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Three Ways Climate Change Threatens Maldives Sea Turtles

1 Rising Seas The turtle population that has imprinted on Maldivian beaches will be displaced if rising sea levels erode or destroy their nesting sites. Sand pumping and land reclamation as the geography shifts change the way beaches cycle, leading to nesting beach erosion or loss.

2 Elevated Temps Turtles have temperature-dependent sex determination, meaning the temperature of the nest determines the sex of the hatchlings. Warmer temps lead to more females, throwing off the usual ratio. Extreme heat can interfere with the viability of eggs, resulting in a far lower rate of hatching success. In addition to the reduced numbers of sea turtles, those surviving creatures could face a threat as the warmer waters lead to lowered immunity and blooms of parasites that can be detrimental to their health.

3 Heightened Acidity Climate change not only affects the turtles’ habitat but also the prey they rely on for sustenance. Higher levels of acidity in the sea can be destructive to both seagrass and coral reef habitats, as well as many prey fish and crustaceans that make up the turtles’ diets, potentially causing a loss of appropriate nutrition that could force them to venture outside their natural habitat to locate a replacement food source.

How Divers And Snorkelers Can Help

The Olive Ridley Project—the nation’s biggest turtle-related NGO—was started by Dr. Martin Stelfox in 2013, inspired by his time working in the Maldives and seeing olive ridley turtles caught in discarded fishing nets. Many resort dive pros throughout the atolls have worked with the organization, photographing the turtles they encounter and monitoring the resort house reefs and dive sites for ghost nets and potential entanglements.

A local hotline connects resort dive instructors to an on-call rescue crew. Visiting divers and their dive guides are asked to photograph the situation, as documented details before and during the rescue can inform veterinarians’ approach to save the turtles. Even non-dire data collection can help.

“Anyone can collaborate with the photo identification research by sending IDs to the Olive Ridley Project and growing the database, which will help understand population, migration and behavior patterns,” says Athif. “Ghost net issues are largely in December and January, when the monsoonal winds change, coinciding with popular travel months. Divers can also help with delivering codes of conduct for guests who might not understand how to properly act around sea turtles.”