Articals of Dive World of Maldives & the Global News

As there are so many happenings and news and views of people around the world regarding the dive industry of Maldives and there honest review and thoughts.
We have here compiled information from different source to bring you and share some information.

One whale of a shark: Researchers observe school of whale sharks in Gulf
By Paul Cloos
June 17, 2009, 11:54AM source: blog.al.com

OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. -- Whale sharks are considered the largest fish in the sea, growing bigger than a school bus, but knowledge about them is quite small.

Numerous questions about their behavior, life span, mating habits and migratory routes are unanswered after decades of research, but Eric Hoffmayer, a shark biologist with the University of Southern Mississippi's Gulf Coast Research Laboratory in Ocean Springs, is trying to change that.

Hoffmayer, who has a doctorate in biology from Ole Miss, and a crew of researchers and volunteers spent last week on their first whale shark fact-finding expedition about 60 miles off the coast of Louisiana.

For seven days, the biologists were diving in 300-foot waters and were able to satellite tag three of about a dozen whale sharks, including a mammoth 48-footer.

The fish, which can live up to 30 years, can reach about 50 feet in length and can weigh up to 2 tons.

"We just know very little about them and their movements," Hoffmayer said. "The peak time they're sighted in the Gulf is June and July, but we don't know where they go in the winter."

The giant fish are thought to dive as deep as 6,000 feet in the Gulf of Mexico and other tropical and subtropical seas.

"It could just be that they are not at the surface then, or they leave the Gulf altogether," Hoffmayer said, adding that the satellite tags should shed light on the sharks' seasonal whereabouts.

The tags cost about $4,000 each and are programmed to discharge in about nine months, float to the surface and send recorded data about where each shark has traveled to a satellite.

______________________________________________________________

Beaches Closed As Florida Fishermen Reel In Nearly 10-foot Hammerhead Shark
Underwatertimes.com News Service
January 29, 2010 18:44 EST

RIVIERA BEACH, Florida -- Two fisherman caught a 9-foot-9-inch hammerhead shark along a South Florida public beach.
The fishermen, who were not identified, were fishing from shore, and they released the shark before it was weighed.
Sharks have been gathering along the beach in the annual chase of baitfish.
Officials says lemon, bull and hammerheads often come close to shore.
The beach was closed Friday after the hammerhead was caught. Lifeguards also closed Ocean Reef Park on Thursday because of sharks.
Hammerheads, with their T-shaped heads with an eye on each side, feed on fish, stingrays, skates, and other sharks.

 _______________________________________________________________

Maldives to ban reef shark fishing by March 2010

When Maldives Minister of State for Fisheries and Agriculture stood up to speak at the South West Indian Ocean Fisheries Commission steering committee meeting in Mombasa, he talked extensively about the shark and how the tiny archipelago is changing its fortunes from the sea creature.

But to the surprise of many, especially the Kenyan delegation, the minister, Dr Hussein Rasheed Hassan, explained that his country was in the process of banning fishing of sharks from its waters, making it the first nation in the region to make such a move.

The majority of states in the region do not attach such value to the sharks. read more

_____________________________________________________________________________

Girl names Maldives coral reef
date added: 2009-06-03    source: news.bbc.co.uk
A 10-year-old London girl has won a competition run by the Hay Festival to name one of the world's first cultivated coral reefs in the Maldives.

Zsuzsa Maygar, of Notting Hill, west London, came up with the name, Stingray Reef. Mohamed Nasheed, President of the Maldives, judged the competition.

If the reef survives, the sandbank it protects will grow to form an island which will be anointed Stingray Island.

Zsuzsa said she would be "amazed" if her idea became the island's name. read more

___________________________________________________________________________

Diving Holiday In Maldives Your Slice Of Paradise

Visit the Maldives and experience life stripped down to simplicity, from its cobalt blue seas to the expanses of endless horizons and sunny days. In a nation that stems solely from coral islands, the Maldives is unbridled in possibilities of romantic getaways, luxurious villas and excellent dive spots. From sun worshippers, dive enthusiasts to those looking for a little nook to hide away in, the Maldives is perhaps the most alluring of holiday destinations to be found around the world. By no means is it cheap, the Maldives is packed with accommodation options that could beseech even the wealthiest of travellers. But be rest assured, that the views before you will take your breath away, the pampering will be world class, the sand that is beneath your feet will be one of the finest, and the faces that greet you will be some of the friendliest.

If you are a certified diver, all you need is your licence and you will enjoy free reign on the reefs and atolls of Maldives. Equipment is readily available for rent or purchase, as are a number of diving schools and operators. Even if you are an amateur diver, the dive schools will teach you how to go about diving and take you to the safer spots to dive in to. Of the many options available, there are scuba diving, drift diving, wreck diving and night diving.

There are many dive sites available to be explored, of those worth mentioning are Wreck of the Maldives Victory, Banana Reef, Shark Point, Barracuda Giri and Manta Point. Off the island of Hulule a 35,000 tonne wreck can be found that was capsized in 1981, and is just waiting to be explored. Banana Reef situated at the northern Male atoll is excellent for photography, the fish are not afraid of photographers and will come up close and personal for some spectacular shots. At Shark Point, divers can find friendly gray and whitetip reef sharks, which are known to swim up and down the channel that make up this dive spot. Manta Point located near Ari Atoll is famous for the manta rays that can be seen from December through to April.

When looking for your idyllic Maldives resort , you need not look any further than the legendary Shangri-Las Villingili Resort and Spa. Providing discerning guests some of the finest

__________________________________________________________________________

The Resorts of the Maldives
From October 2004
By Shane Mitchell
Source: travel &leasure

Treasured by sailors along sea-trade routes for 2,500 years, the Maldives are home to some of the most luxurious spas in the world. Shane Mitchell travels nine time zones to test the waters at the archipelago's best resorts

"May I please have more ice in my Coke?" Even on an 80/80 (degrees/humidity) day during monsoon season in the Maldives, bartenders habitually skimp on the ice cubes. In the alfresco airport lounge, Hassan reluctantly scoops more into my glass; as I watch the soda become slushy in seconds, my thoughts turn to the new science of climate change—a subject that haunts this remote Indian Ocean archipelago, which crisscrosses the equator. According to the C.I.A. World Factbook, the highest natural point in this island republic is an unnamed eight-foot hummock in the Addu Atoll. Should global warming thaw the polar ice cap and raise the sea level incrementally, the Maldives will be one of the first places on the planet to disappear under the waves. No wonder requests for extra ice make Maldivian bartenders nervous. read more

___________________________________________________________________________