Endemic to the Maldives, they thrive in almost all reefs. They could very well be the most photographed fish around. Even so observing them is an obsessive thing.  The relationship among their family, the mutualism with its host anemone and many other aspects of their behaviour.

Tehnical Divers doing their decompression stop in blue water

Technical diving is a kind of diving done that goes beyond the limits of main stream recreational diving. To move on to technical diving, divers need to have experience, extensive training, a greater degree of mental and physical fitness and it involved the use of specialized equipment.

Technical diving or tech diving for short, branches out to several varieties or categories. It includes Search and Recovery, Wreck Diving, Cave Diving, use of Rebreathers and so on. All types have their own prerequisites and training. And divers would need to complete prerequisite courses and log enough number of dives before progressing.

A couple of diving instructors coming from the Technical Diving International (TDI) agency are working to introduce technical diving into Maldives. The current diving regulation made by the Tourism Ministry doesn’t allow such diving so a set of technical diving guidelines need to be made before starting it. Maldives is famed as a diving destination ever since the birth of tourism but has been lagging behind rest of the dive destinations in the field of technical diving. But technical diving guidelines needs to implemented well here and the Tourism Ministry, who is in charge of monitoring the dive centres need to step up to do the job.

On the 9^th of November these 2 dive instructors who came with the backing of the larger and well established technical diving agencies, met with Tourism Ministry officials, local dive operators and members from the Divers Association of Maldives for an informative workshop on technical diving. More such forums will be held in the future. Current ongoing work for the process includes gathering information, gathering statistics and making a draft Technical Diving Guidelines.

Rest of the world has embarrassed technical diving. While there are some concerns it something which plays an important part in underwater exploration, conservation, research, increase of safety and dives, etc.  As one tech Instructor puts it “Technical diving doesn’t necessarily mean going deeper and staying longer but rather diving in such environments not reached by recreational divers and returning to the surface safely”.

What is your opinion on this?

All photos provided by Ben Reymenants

To get updates on Technical Diving in Maldives on faceboook click here.

The fisheries ministry is working to ban oceanic shark fisheries as well and to put a total ban on export of shark products by next year. We need to pressure to make this happen.

Shark fishing being done in broad day light at Ari Atoll

It has taken years to bring about this change and it would not have happened if not for the dedication of a lot of people in various sectors.

Right now the major concern is to enforce these regulations.

For more information check out

http://www.minivannews.com/news_detail.php?id=6096

pictures taken at a local island

all species of sharks are fished

whale shark researchers and dive staff from a resort in Baa Atoll...

...hitches rides and harasses these animals. site: Baa Atoll Hanfiaru.

Maldives Whale Shark Research Program (MWSRP) has identified this individual as "Joey". This whale shark had been indentified first from a previous photo (taken with Tanya Streeter) with its fin intact.