Love Reefs? Want to put your diving skills to good use? Try this Reef Check diving expedition with a difference…..
Each year Biosphere Expeditions runs Reef Check training expeditions in the Maldives, but due to popular demand, this year they are putting on a special EXTRA week for those who already hold a Reef Check Indo-Pacific Eco Diver qualification.
Coral reefs are under threat, and El Nino events are now compounded by other environmental issues. If left unchecked, widespread bleaching ensues. It is now more important than ever to monitor reef health, as management of our reefs can only occur with intervention on a global scale.
Based on a very luxurious liveaboard yacht, you will help marine biologists study and protect the Maldives’ spectacular coral reefs and resident whale shark population. In 1997, the Maldives government identified a need for further research and monitoring work and in partnership with Reef Check and The Marine Conservation Society, Biosphere Expeditions is addressing this need, but can only do so with you on board!
This is a perfect opportunity to utilise your skills and make full use your qualification in this incredible but endangered ecosystem. If you want to learn more or sign up for this exciting expedition please check out the Biosphere website!
Week 1 includes full Reef Check training and surveying and runs from 15th – 21st July 2017 Week 2 (NEW SURVEY ONLY), runs from 22nd – 29th July 2017
(N.B. you don’t have to do both weeks, but you can if you wish.)
Price for a 1 week expedition in the Maldives is £1,770
Catherine Edsell – PADI Divemaster, Mountain Leader and Expedition Leader for Biosphere Expeditions says, “I have worked with Biosphere Expeditions as an expedition leader for three years now and in five different locations, and am often asked why I choose to work with them and what makes them different. Primarily, I feel the work they do is extremely important – these are not tours, they are expeditions that take you to the heart of an environmental issue, whether that be underwater investigating coral reef health, patrolling turtle beaches to intercept poachers, or setting camera traps in jungles to get a better idea of tiger populations. I completely endorse their integral involvement of the scientist: this brings the expedition to life, adds an educational sphere that many expeditions lack, and gives the work, which is often physically very demanding, a real purpose. I’ve dedicated the best part of my life to conservation, and feel privileged to be part of an organisation with such a great ethos.”
Dr. Matthias Hammer, Executive Director of Biosphere Expeditions has just been awarded the “2016 Reef Stewardship Award”, by the Reef Check Foundation in Los Angeles this September. This is a fantastic way to travel and to do something constructive and green at the same time! Check it out guys!