On the 28th of February, Starboard Ocean Ambassador Cal Major and her Stand Up For Our Seas paddleboard expedition team completed their 100km, unprecedented SUP expedition of the Baa Atoll in the Maldives, raising awareness of the need to protect marine life, and the necessary actions to do so.
The expedition received an incredibly positive response from national media, government, schools, resorts and individuals. On arrival at the final destination, the Stand Up For Our Seas expedition team were welcomed back by the Minister for the Environment – little did Cal and her team realise just how impactful it had been!
Four women complete the unprecedented ‘Stand Up For Our Seas’ paddleboard expedition in the Maldives
Dr Claire Petros and Dr Cal Major, veterinarians from the UK, and Saazu Saeed and Dhafy Hassan Ibrahim, Maldivian Ocean Advocates, paddled a gruelling 100km over 8 days, the likes of which has never been done before in the Maldives.
The women paddled in the beating sun, fighting dehydration and exhaustion, through unseasonal headwinds and waves and against strong currents, between 16 islands of the Atoll.
The team – supported by environmentalist Rob Thompson of Odyssey Innovations, Videographer James Appleton, and Shameel Ibrahim of the Olive Ridley Project – visited schools, local islands and resorts along the way to give presentations, run beach and harbour cleanups, and investigate the myriad of solutions to plastic pollution and climate change already in place in the country, with the aim of inspiring further positive change.
Cal Major, who has previously completed world record SUP expeditions, says: “This expedition was so different to my previous expeditions; one of the biggest challenges, and the most rewarding aspects, was working as a team, discovering our complementary strengths and support, and creating a successful campaign as a unit.”
The women were privileged enough to encounter turtles, dolphins and manta rays during the paddling, bringing home the importance of protecting the oceans around the world.
They also encountered uninhabited islands covered in plastic bottles, enormous ghost fishing nets on beaches regularly used by turtles for nesting, and harbours packed with plastic. Plastic pollution is a huge issue with recent global media attention. It is a global problem and experiencing it here,
juxtaposed by wildlife, highlighted the importance of the need to tackle this problem urgently and globally. The oceans are all connected and are vital to support life on Earth, producing over 50% of the oxygen in the atmosphere.
Dr Claire Petros, Lead Veterinarian of the Olive Ridley Project, protecting turtles in the Indian Ocean from Ghost Fishing Gear, says: “Having treated sea turtles with life-threatening entanglements caused by plastic pollution and ghost fishing gear, I have witnessed first hand just how much suffering and damage each animal affected by this man-made problem has to endure.”
The Maldives is renowned for its pristine marine environment and abundance of wildlife, but it is also vulnerable to plastic pollution, coral bleaching and climate change. Thousands of marine creatures every year are entangled in lost or discarded fishing nets. Thousands more ingest plastic fragments, causing starvation and poisoning the food chain.
The Maldives is the lowest-lying country in the world, made up of more than 1100 islands surrounded by coral reefs which support the ocean ecosystem. Due to warming seas, these corals are becoming bleached, with progressively less ability to regenerate. The rising sea levels are severely threatening the islands, with estimates projecting that they will be underwater in 12 years if current trends continue.
The reception to the team was phenomenal, with local islands and resorts alike excited to share the positive changes they already had in place, proud to protect the local marine life, and eager to learn more. Many schools were working towards becoming plastic-free, and as well as receiving the team’s presentations were encouraged to give their own accounts of the waste management practices being initiated on their home islands.
The expedition was supported by Coco Collection, and the start and end points were the Coco Palm Dhuni Kolhu resort, home to the Olive Ridley Project turtle rescue and rehabilitation centre.
As a locally-owned resort brand that’s part of the beautiful natural environment of the Maldives, Coco Collection is aware of their impact and they strive to make their impact positive, protective and nurturing towards their surroundings.
“That is why we are proud to invest time, money, expertise, and energy in playing our part. Beyond what we do ourselves at our resorts, we partner with and support initiatives such as Stand Up for Our Seas, in order to have the biggest lasting positive impact to our corner of the world and
beyond.”
The team met with Dr Hussain Rasheed, the Minister of Environment, before setting out on their voyage, and his message was a clear global call to action: The Maldives is taking responsibility for its own carbon emissions, aiming to become the first carbon-neutral country. They are supporting plastic free schools programmes and helping islands to become plastic free. Resorts are answering consumer demands to use less plastic, and most have desalination plants to make drinking water, removing the need for plastic water bottles. Fishing with nets is not permitted in the Maldives; pole and line methods are widely used instead: The nets arriving in ocean currents into the Maldivian waters, entangling the megafauna here, are usually from further afield.
Even with the Maldives making all the changes within their power, it is up to the global community to take action to prevent carbon emissions and climate change from irreparably destroying this country.
The expedition received copious in-country media attention and support and was used as a vehicle to encourage continued positive change and to inspire global action.
All picture credits: James Appleton
Dates of expedition: 21st to 28th February 2019
Social Media handles:
Instagram @standupforourseas
Facebook @standupforourseas
Twitter @up_seas
