{"id":22869,"date":"2022-08-25T11:13:30","date_gmt":"2022-08-25T15:13:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/world.dan.org\/?post_type=dan_alert_diver&#038;p=22869"},"modified":"2023-02-08T15:54:50","modified_gmt":"2023-02-08T20:54:50","slug":"the-maldives","status":"publish","type":"dan_alert_diver","link":"https:\/\/world.dan.org\/fr\/alert-diver\/article\/the-maldives\/","title":{"rendered":"Les Maldives"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><span style=\"color: #005274;\" class=\"stk-highlight\"><strong>ALORS QUE LE MONDE \u00c9TAIT ENCORE EN GRANDE PARTIE VERROUILL\u00c9<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/span><span style=\"color: #111111;\" class=\"stk-highlight\">Malgr\u00e9 les restrictions de voyage, mon fil d'actualit\u00e9 sur les r\u00e9seaux sociaux \u00e9tait rempli de superbes photos des Maldives. Les Maldives ont ouvert leurs portes plus t\u00f4t que la plupart des destinations de plong\u00e9e \u00e0 l'\u00e9tranger, ce qui nous a permis de nous inspirer de nombreuses photos pour notre voyage en mai. La couverture en ligne incluait les requins-baleines, les raies manta, les requins-tigres et les r\u00e9cifs tropicaux color\u00e9s qui, nous l'esp\u00e9rions, nous attendaient.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All we had to do was get there, which was easy by exotic dive travel standards. A direct flight from Miami to Doha, Qatar, took 14 hours, and then a five-hour connection took me to the international airport in Mal\u00e9, the Maldives\u2019 capital. While that is a long time, especially factoring in the layover in Doha, it is also easy, making the Maldives more accessible than most world-class dive destinations. While Miami was convenient for me, others in our group departed from New York, Seattle, Houston, and Los Angeles. There are other U.S. and European gateways to the Maldives, which depends on tourism. Easy air access is the lubricant that keeps the wheels of commerce spinning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From Mal\u00e9, a speedboat or airplane can whisk visitors to a land-based resort on one of many white-sand-rimmed islands \u2014 there are 1,192 recorded islands in 26 atolls throughout the Maldives. As we did on this trip, you can also meet a liveaboard for one of many possible itineraries. However you do it, the dive opportunities are situated away from the capital\u2019s congestion and amid a sea of blue. Fortunately, being away from the capital doesn\u2019t necessarily mean a far trip \u2014 there is good diving less than a 30-minute boat ride away and throughout the archipelago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A brief overview of the Maldives\u2019 reef structure helps explain the dive opportunities. The Maldives feature submerged volcanic mountains, which provided the substrate for coral colonization. The low coral atolls built up atop these peaks and rising sea levels led to extensive fringing reefs. These islands are now only the very tops of submerged mountains and are in jeopardy of the sea soon (geologically speaking) subsuming them. Large apartment developments are under construction on Mal\u00e9 to house residents from the outer islands that are losing land, but tourism continues to thrive despite this infrastructure problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The diving varies according to whether you are along a channel, faru, thila, or giri. Divers generally drop in the channels between the open ocean and lagoons on an incoming tide for two reasons: It brings the blue ocean water through the channel, and an outgoing tide would sweep you into the vast ocean rather than a quiet, protected lagoon, where it\u2019s easier and safer to reboard the dive boat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/q3_82_maldives.jpeg\" alt=\"Un dhoni de plong\u00e9e s&#039;approche du r\u00e9cif peu profond.\" class=\"wp-image-22873\" width=\"615\" height=\"410\" srcset=\"https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/q3_82_maldives.jpeg 432w, https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/q3_82_maldives-360x240.jpeg 360w, https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/q3_82_maldives-18x12.jpeg 18w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 615px) 100vw, 615px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\">\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #005274;\" class=\"stk-highlight\">Un dhoni de plong\u00e9e s'approche du r\u00e9cif peu profond qui fait face \u00e0 l'oc\u00e9an Indien,<\/span> <span style=\"color: #005274;\" class=\"stk-highlight\">tandis qu'un canal m\u00e8ne \u00e0 une lagune prot\u00e9g\u00e9e.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/q3_77_maldives.jpeg\" alt=\"mur\u00e8ne\" class=\"wp-image-22874\" width=\"615\" height=\"441\" srcset=\"https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/q3_77_maldives.jpeg 648w, https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/q3_77_maldives-360x258.jpeg 360w, https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/q3_77_maldives-18x12.jpeg 18w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 615px) 100vw, 615px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\">\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #005274;\" class=\"stk-highlight\">Sur le site de plong\u00e9e connu sous le nom de Fish Tank, il est courant de voir des mur\u00e8nes de diff\u00e9rentes esp\u00e8ces cohabiter dans les m\u00eames anfractuosit\u00e9s du r\u00e9cif.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"432\" height=\"288\" src=\"https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/q3_78_maldives.jpeg\" alt=\"Un poisson-ange\" class=\"wp-image-22875\" srcset=\"https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/q3_78_maldives.jpeg 432w, https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/q3_78_maldives-360x240.jpeg 360w, https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/q3_78_maldives-18x12.jpeg 18w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 432px) 100vw, 432px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>Un poisson-ange royal visite une station de nettoyage \u00e0 Fahalla Thila.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Les farus sont des r\u00e9cifs circulaires qui s'\u00e9l\u00e8vent du fond de la mer, g\u00e9n\u00e9ralement \u00e0 l'int\u00e9rieur d'un chenal. Le courant et les nutriments balayant le fond \u00e0 chaque changement de mar\u00e9e signifient qu'il y a beaucoup de bons farus avec une croissance de coraux mous. Lors d'une mar\u00e9e optimale, une bonne action p\u00e9lagique se produit \u00e0 l'endroit o\u00f9 le courant est le plus fort. Un thila commence dans des eaux moins profondes \u00e0 l'int\u00e9rieur des atolls et peut \u00eatre assez petit pour \u00eatre contourn\u00e9 lors d'une plong\u00e9e. Le giri est souvent plus petit, mais ces termes sont souvent interchangeables. Tous deux n'ont pas de structure circulaire et pr\u00e9sentent plut\u00f4t un promontoire peu profond avec une concentration de coraux.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is relevant because the type of diving depends on the tide, where the structure is located relative to the channel, and whether it is in an area protected from the current. Our group of photographers found some of the drift dives through the channels to be unproductive. While there were plenty of things to photograph, it was hard to stop long enough to set up the shot. We often opted for a quiet reef dive instead of a high-velocity drift. The Maldives gives you plenty of options depending on the group\u2019s preferences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mal\u00e9 is at the southern edge of&nbsp;<strong>Mal du Nord<\/strong><strong>\u00e9<\/strong><strong>&nbsp;Atoll<\/strong>Cette r\u00e9gion est bien explor\u00e9e et compte des dizaines de sites de plong\u00e9e de qualit\u00e9. En commen\u00e7ant notre exp\u00e9dition ici, nous avons laiss\u00e9 les bagages qui n'\u00e9taient pas arriv\u00e9s sur le vol international nous rattraper alors que nous \u00e9tions encore pr\u00e8s de l'a\u00e9roport.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Il est possible d'aller beaucoup plus loin pour commencer, et divers itin\u00e9raires de croisi\u00e8re ont \u00e9volu\u00e9 pour r\u00e9pondre \u00e0 des int\u00e9r\u00eats sp\u00e9cifiques en mati\u00e8re de plong\u00e9e. Un itin\u00e9raire m\u00e9ridional peut augmenter les chances de rencontrer des requins.&nbsp;<strong>Addu<\/strong>&nbsp;et&nbsp;<strong>Fuvamulah<\/strong>&nbsp;are known for tiger, guitar, thresher, hammerhead, oceanic blacktip, whale, and silvertip sharks along with oceanic and reef mantas. While that sounds exciting, we weren\u2019t going so far south this time, but it may be the itinerary for my next visit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote has-text-align-center is-style-large is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><span style=\"color: #005274;\" class=\"stk-highlight\">Les Maldives se caract\u00e9risent par des montagnes volcaniques submerg\u00e9es, qui ont fourni le substrat n\u00e9cessaire \u00e0 la colonisation corallienne. Les atolls coralliens peu \u00e9lev\u00e9s qui se sont construits au sommet de ces pics et l'\u00e9l\u00e9vation du niveau de la mer ont donn\u00e9 naissance \u00e0 de vastes r\u00e9cifs frangeants.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>The country is so vast in terms of marine attractions that you can\u2019t go wrong no matter where your liveaboard sails. The archipelago is spread over nearly 35,000 square miles, running more than 510 miles north to south and 80 miles east to west. As you move away from Mal\u00e9, you can choose among popular itineraries, including Ari and Rasdhoo Atolls or perhaps Baa Atoll, which is famous for the scores of manta rays often in residence at Hanifaru Bay between July and November. Or you might head south to catch Mulaku, Vaavu, and Kolhumadulu, which is what we did on my 2016 trip to the Maldives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Departing Mal\u00e9 boats can cruise a circular route either clockwise or counterclockwise. We opted for counterclockwise to stay within reach of the airport and began with&nbsp;<strong>Rasdhoo Madivaru.&nbsp;<\/strong>Our checkout dive helped us dial in our buoyancy and refresh dive skills grown rusty during travel restrictions. Not expecting too much, I jumped in with a 50 mm macro lens, thinking that the water clarity would be marginal, but at least there would be good fish. The fish did not disappoint, and the visibility surprised me. We had at least 80-foot clarity and 84\u00b0F water, so it was very comfortable with my 3 mm suit. I almost immediately found a large school of blue-lined snapper and one of my favorite Indo-Pacific reef dwellers, the clown triggerfish. Coral groupers and longsnout butterflyfish decorated the sloping reef, while host anemones and their resident clownfish provided willing subjects to hone our group\u2019s somewhat neglected photo skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/q3_79_maldives-e1660318360657.png\" alt=\"Michael Aw a photographi\u00e9 ce requin tigre.\" class=\"wp-image-22876\" width=\"614\" height=\"484\" srcset=\"https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/q3_79_maldives-e1660318360657.png 360w, https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/q3_79_maldives-e1660318360657-15x12.png 15w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 614px) 100vw, 614px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"432\" height=\"288\" src=\"https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/q3_80_maldives.jpeg\" alt=\"Requin-baleine se nourrissant de crevettes et de plancton\" class=\"wp-image-22877\" srcset=\"https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/q3_80_maldives.jpeg 432w, https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/q3_80_maldives-360x240.jpeg 360w, https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/q3_80_maldives-18x12.jpeg 18w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 432px) 100vw, 432px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><span style=\"color: #005274;\" class=\"stk-highlight\"><strong>Les lumi\u00e8res vives \u00e0 l'arri\u00e8re du pont de plong\u00e9e attirent parfois les crevettes et le plancton, ce qui peut \u00e9galement attirer l'embl\u00e9matique filtreur : le requin-baleine.<\/strong><br><\/span><br><span style=\"color: #005274;\" class=\"stk-highlight\"><br><strong>Michael Aw a photographi\u00e9 ce requin tigre dans les \u00eeles du sud des Maldives.<\/strong><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>I was surprised that our second dive would be at a manta cleaning station at North Ari Atoll because that had the potential to be a highlight of any Maldives dive holiday. I thought the crew would save the outstanding opportunities for later in the week, but our trip\u2019s direction changed their priorities. The cleaning station was indeed spectacular, not only for the manta interaction but also for the critters we encountered while waiting for the mantas to arrive. According to our dive briefing, the prevailing tide would signal which side of a particular shallow coral bommie our group should occupy. The fish that cleaned the mantas were in residence there, so all we had to do was wait and not bum-rush the mantas when they eventually came around.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The waiting could have been tedious but for the large school of humpback red snapper at the periphery of the coral head. Our discipline to stay in place and await the action was tested when a mellow eagle ray came by and was tolerant of me swimming alongside only 2 feet away. Recognizing the farther I swam with the eagle ray, the farther I\u2019d have to swim back to the cleaning station when the mantas came, I turned around just in time to see the mantas approaching from some place known only to them. Our group did exactly what the dive crew had told us: stay on the bottom and let the mantas come to us.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote has-text-align-center is-style-large is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><span style=\"color: #005274;\" class=\"stk-highlight\">Comme l'\u00e9quipage l'avait pr\u00e9dit, un jeune requin-baleine est venu d\u00eener. Il mesurait peut-\u00eatre 18 pieds et n'allait certainement pas s'\u00e9loigner tant que la nourriture \u00e9tait servie. Nous avons eu tout le temps que nous voulions pour faire du snorkeling avec le requin-baleine. Quelques heures plus tard, nous sommes all\u00e9s nous coucher avec le requin-baleine toujours \u00e0 l'arri\u00e8re du bateau.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>When I settled in again, one of the mantas was hovering just inches above my friend Paula Selby\u2019s dome port. I got some great shots of the interaction from the side but was envious of Paula\u2019s vantage point until I looked at her port extension and realized she had to be shooting a 16-35mm zoom lens. That is plenty wide for most things, but a manta belly 6 inches from the dome would be little more than a blanket of white draped from above. Still, it was a cool experience for her, and it went on like that for two full minutes. Fortunately, the manta circled back around, allowing her to get the side view.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Les deux plong\u00e9es suivantes \u00e0&nbsp;<strong>Bathala Thila<\/strong>&nbsp;et&nbsp;<strong>Hafsa Thila<\/strong>&nbsp;a n\u00e9cessit\u00e9 un peu de ma\u00eetrise de soi car il y avait tellement d'an\u00e9mones diff\u00e9rentes en boule avec leurs manchons color\u00e9s expos\u00e9s, et combien de ces an\u00e9mones peut-on photographier dans une vie ? Apparemment quelques dizaines de plus, \u00e0 en juger par le dossier de photos des Maldives prises ce jour-l\u00e0. Au moins, j'ai photographi\u00e9 d'autres balistes clowns et des poissons-soldats \u00e0 barre noire pour ajouter un peu de vari\u00e9t\u00e9 \u00e0 la journ\u00e9e.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>La plong\u00e9e de nuit \u00e0&nbsp;<strong>Maaya Thila<\/strong>&nbsp;was an anomaly from the clear water we had earlier in the day; with the outgoing tide, the visibility couldn\u2019t have been more than 30 feet. We tried to drop onto a pinnacle but couldn\u2019t see it and missed the top. While getting my accidentally released surface marker buoy (SMB) reorganized, I descended steadily deeper until I found myself kneeling on the sand bottom at (yikes!) 116 feet. It goes to show that doing 6,000 dives doesn\u2019t prevent stupid, but the deep descent did us no harm. My dive buddy and I made our way back to the pinnacle\u2019s top at 25 feet, where we were supposed to be, and photographed marbled rays, jacks, and whitetip reef sharks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/q3_81_maldives.jpeg\" alt=\"coraux mous \u00e0 Fohtheyo Kandu\" class=\"wp-image-22878\" width=\"615\" height=\"373\" srcset=\"https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/q3_81_maldives.jpeg 475w, https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/q3_81_maldives-360x218.jpeg 360w, https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/q3_81_maldives-18x12.jpeg 18w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 615px) 100vw, 615px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\">\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #005274;\" class=\"stk-highlight\">Valerie Rutledge utilise son iPhone dans un bo\u00eetier SeaLife SportDiver pour<\/span> <span style=\"color: #005274;\" class=\"stk-highlight\">photographier des coraux mous \u00e0 Fohtheyo Kandu.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>La plong\u00e9e du matin nous a permis de poursuivre notre trajectoire vers le sud jusqu'\u00e0&nbsp;<strong>T\u00eate de poisson<\/strong>, un site de plong\u00e9e sur<strong>&nbsp;Mushimasmigili Thila.&nbsp;<\/strong>It was more like Fish Soup due to a light-obliterating school of Moorish idol on the island\u2019s current-facing point. I also had great encounters with a docile hawksbill turtle and a large school of blue-lined snapper. That\u2019s a dive I would have revisited, but it was good because of the incoming tide, and the energy would have abated at slack tide. Better to leave that one in the memory bank and on the memory cards and move on to the next adventure, another manta ray cleaning station at&nbsp;<strong>Rochers de Mahibadhoo.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The protocols stayed much the same, and our group got situated along the shallow reef\u2019s downcurrent edge. On this dive, Tracey Bennett got the benefit of the manta-belly blanket dropping down on her dome port, the animal touching the dome ever-so-gently before lifting off to the reef to be cleaned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The following day\u2019s first dive was in a channel with a strong current passing through. During the briefing the divemaster informed us that we would drop to a rocky promontory jutting out into the blue, and with the incoming current ripping, we were to use our reef hooks to attach to a bit of rock and wait for the sharks to come to us. The catch was that this was at 90 feet, so I wouldn\u2019t have much time, and it meant a gray reef shark might come within only 5 or 6 feet at the very nearest. I would be lucky to get more than a distant fly-by. This wasn\u2019t going to be fodder for a world-class shark photo, so I cut loose from the reef and did the drift through the channel.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Une plong\u00e9e dans un chenal extr\u00eame m'a suffi. Au moment de la plong\u00e9e suivante, j'ai voulu conna\u00eetre les options et j'ai demand\u00e9 \u00e0 l'\u00e9quipage ce qui ressemblait \u00e0 un r\u00e9cif en pente. C'\u00e9tait un endroit al\u00e9atoire qu'ils avaient rarement plong\u00e9, mais pour un r\u00e9cif en bonne sant\u00e9 et des tropiques color\u00e9s, cela s'est av\u00e9r\u00e9 \u00eatre l'une des meilleures plong\u00e9es du voyage. Le baliste clown omnipr\u00e9sent \u00e9tait \u00e9galement pr\u00e9sent, mais comme le r\u00e9cif \u00e9tait en parfait \u00e9tat, les arri\u00e8re-plans \u00e9taient impressionnants. J'ai eu une belle s\u00e9rie avec des poissons-anges royaux tr\u00e8s accessibles avant de passer \u00e0 des poissons-papillons \u00e0 long bec qui font ce pour quoi ils sont anatomiquement con\u00e7us : s'introduire dans de minuscules fissures coralliennes pour se nourrir.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote has-text-align-center is-style-large is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><span style=\"color: #005274;\" class=\"stk-highlight\">The country is so vast in terms of marine attractions that you can\u2019t go wrong no matter where your liveaboard sails. The archipelago is spread over nearly 35,000 square miles, running more than 510 miles north to south and 80 miles east to west.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>That night we were treated to one of the highlights of a Maldives adventure \u2014 a whale shark at night. Whale sharks are a highlight of South Ari Atoll, particularly during the northeast monsoon season from December to May. As dusk approached, the crew turned on a powerful quartz halogen light mounted to the swim platform at the boat\u2019s stern. The light attracted tiny shrimp and plankton as the twilight gave way to black. As the crew predicted, a juvenile whale shark came to dinner. It was perhaps 18 feet and definitely not going anywhere else as long as food was being served. We had all the time we wanted to snorkel with the whale shark. Hours later we went to bed with the whale shark still at the stern. I don\u2019t know what happened when they turned out the light, but I assume the food chain quickly snapped, and that was the end of it until the next night\u2019s visit from another liveaboard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Le lendemain matin, nous avons visit\u00e9 une autre station de nettoyage de mantas \u00e0&nbsp;<strong>Kurali Manta Point.&nbsp;<\/strong>Douglas Seifert a rapport\u00e9 dans un article paru en 2018 dans la revue&nbsp;<em>Plong\u00e9e&nbsp;<\/em>,<em>&nbsp;<\/em>que<strong>&nbsp;<\/strong>the Maldives is home to \u201cthe world\u2019s largest population of reef manta rays. Estimates of the total population of manta rays in the Maldives are said to be as high as 10,000 individuals; some believe the figure could be double that.\u201d That was four years ago, but I saw nothing to dispute the claim. This dive was also productive, with the entire group following orders to hold in one position, and our reward was mellow mantas happy to be in proximity and get cleaned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Parmi les autres points forts de l'excursion, citons le jardin de coraux durs peu profonds et immacul\u00e9s \u00e0&nbsp;<strong>Hakura Thila<\/strong>&nbsp;et le banc de poissons-papillons \u00e0 queue rouge \u00e0&nbsp;<strong>Vanhuravalhi Kandu<\/strong>. A ce moment du voyage, j'ai remarqu\u00e9 une curieuse p\u00e9nurie de coraux mous, et pour y rem\u00e9dier, notre \u00e9quipe de plong\u00e9e a sugg\u00e9r\u00e9&nbsp;<strong>Fohtheyo Kandu<\/strong>. It was better in that regard than some of the predominantly hard coral reefs we dived earlier in the week, but we weren\u2019t seeing anything that compared to Fiji, Raja Ampat, or the Red Sea in the soft coral department. I don\u2019t doubt some parts of the Maldives have more soft coral than we saw, but overall it wasn\u2019t a big feature of our itinerary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the best dives of the trip was on the last morning. Some of our group chose to sit out to offgas, although we had more than 24 hours between the dive and our flight. We had returned to anchor just off Mal\u00e9, and there is a dive called&nbsp;<strong>R\u00e9servoir de poissons<\/strong>&nbsp;Les restaurants locaux d\u00e9versaient leurs carcasses de poisson sur le quai, ce qui a donn\u00e9 naissance \u00e0 un site productif. Lorsque la plong\u00e9e s'est transform\u00e9e en un site productif, les bateaux de plong\u00e9e et de snorkeling locaux ont souvent fait du chum dans l'eau pour attirer les poissons. Les b\u00e9n\u00e9ficiaires les plus visibles de ces largesses sont les mur\u00e8nes. D'innombrables mur\u00e8nes se trouvent dans les coins et les crevasses du fond, et il est courant de voir deux ou trois esp\u00e8ces d'anguilles cohabiter dans un seul renfoncement du r\u00e9cif. C'\u00e9tait tellement beau que j'ai plong\u00e9 deux fois, une fois avec un objectif grand angle 16-35 mm pour capturer le grand banc d'idoles mauresques et de mannequins posant devant d'immenses mur\u00e8nes en nid d'abeille, et plus tard avec un objectif macro 50 mm pour profiter de tous les portraits de poissons faciles \u00e0 r\u00e9aliser.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Currently, there are 33 marine protected areas throughout the Maldives, an indication that the government is cognizant of the value the coral reef and their significant megafauna (whale sharks, manta rays, and sharks) contributes to the national economy by attracting dive tourism. They may not be able to do much to influence climate change and rising seas. Still, they can enhance their marine resources\u2019 quality, and the government and the Maldivian dive industry are committed to doing just that.\u00a0AD<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/istock-547405524-cropped.jpeg\" alt=\"carte des Maldives\" class=\"wp-image-22879\" width=\"307\" height=\"539\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Punaise rouge dans une carte, punaise pointant l'\u00eele des Maldives<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong><span style=\"color: #005274;\" class=\"stk-highlight\">COMMENT Y PLONGER<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #005274;\" class=\"stk-highlight\">Saison de plong\u00e9e :<\/span><\/strong>&nbsp;La principale saison de plong\u00e9e s'\u00e9tend de d\u00e9cembre \u00e0 mai, bien qu'il soit d\u00e9sormais possible de plonger pratiquement toute l'ann\u00e9e. La mousson du nord-est arrive vers la fin d\u00e9cembre et apporte des eaux plus calmes dans la majeure partie de l'archipel. Dans les conditions les plus claires, la visibilit\u00e9 peut d\u00e9passer les 100 pieds, mais le mouvement des mar\u00e9es peut la r\u00e9duire. Les mar\u00e9es montantes apportent de l'eau claire, mais les mar\u00e9es descendantes transportent des s\u00e9diments du lagon et r\u00e9duisent parfois la visibilit\u00e9 sur le r\u00e9cif frangeant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #005274;\" class=\"stk-highlight\">Dhoni plonge :<\/span><\/strong>&nbsp;Most liveaboards operate synergistically with a dhoni \u2014 a 50- to 60-foot yacht with diesel engines and a compressor on board (usually for air and nitrox). Sleeping and dining happen on the mothership, but diving is from the dhoni. This isolates the fill station noise to the dhoni, which also has a stable platform with a sturdy ladder for getting back onto the boat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #005274;\" class=\"stk-highlight\">Courants :<\/span><\/strong>&nbsp;Plonger dans les courants est une r\u00e9alit\u00e9 aux Maldives, bien que votre \u00e9quipe de plong\u00e9e puisse choisir des r\u00e9cifs d\u00e9pourvus de courants ou opter pour les d\u00e9rives \u00e0 haute tension dans les passes. Il est possible de remonter \u00e0 la surface loin du dhoni, c'est pourquoi chaque plongeur doit voyager avec une bou\u00e9e de surface retard\u00e9e et savoir la d\u00e9ployer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #005274;\" class=\"stk-highlight\">Profondeur :<\/span><\/strong>&nbsp;La l\u00e9gislation des Maldives limite les plong\u00e9es \u00e0 30 m\u00e8tres. Il n'y a aucune raison d'aller plus loin, \u00e9tant donn\u00e9 la topographie des r\u00e9cifs et des passes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #005274;\" class=\"stk-highlight\">Temp\u00e9rature :<\/span><\/strong>&nbsp;Expect air temperatures in the 80s\u00b0F and water temperatures of 80\u00b0F to 86\u00b0F. I\u2019ve found that a 3 mm wetsuit is comfortable year-round.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #005274;\" class=\"stk-highlight\">Passeports et documents :<\/span><\/strong>&nbsp;Consultez les informations actuelles sur les passeports et les conditions d'entr\u00e9e \u00e0 l'adresse suivante&nbsp;<em>travel.state.gov\/content\/travel\/fr\/international-travel\/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages\/Maldives.html<\/em>. Les restrictions de voyage actuelles et les politiques COVID-19 sont disponibles \u00e0 l'adresse suivante&nbsp;<em>visitmaldives.com\/fr\/covid19-updates<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong><span style=\"color: #005274;\" class=\"stk-highlight\">EN SAVOIR PLUS<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Pour en savoir plus sur les merveilleuses Maldives, consultez la galerie de photos et la vid\u00e9o.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n\t\t<!-- MasterSlider -->\n\t\t<div id=\"P_MS69d3d26552c08\" class=\"master-slider-parent ms-partialview-template ms-parent-id-28\" style=\"max-width:1000px;\" >\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<!-- MasterSlider Main -->\n\t\t\t<div id=\"MS69d3d26552c08\" class=\"master-slider ms-skin-light-3\" >\n\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t<div  class=\"ms-slide\" data-delay=\"3\" data-fill-mode=\"fill\"   >\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/plugins\/masterslider\/public\/assets\/css\/blank.gif\" alt=\"\" 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The Maldives opened sooner than most foreign dive destinations, so there was ample photographic inspiration for our trip in May. The online coverage included the whale sharks, manta rays, tiger sharks, and [\u2026]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":22871,"template":"","dan_alert_diver_categories":[73],"dan_alert_diver_issues":[481],"class_list":["post-22869","dan_alert_diver","type-dan_alert_diver","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","dan_alert_diver_categories-features","dan_alert_diver_issues-q3-2022"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.0 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Maldives - DAN World<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"WHILE THE WORLD WAS STILL MOSTLY LOCKED DOWN\u00a0with travel restrictions, my social media feed was alive with gorgeous photos from the Maldives.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/world.dan.org\/fr\/alert-diver\/article\/the-maldives\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_CA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Maldives\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"WHILE THE WORLD WAS STILL MOSTLY LOCKED DOWN\u00a0with travel restrictions, my social media feed was alive with gorgeous photos from the Maldives.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/world.dan.org\/fr\/alert-diver\/article\/the-maldives\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"DAN World\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-02-08T20:54:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/q3_76_maldives-e1660323606717.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1077\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"564\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"WHILE THE WORLD WAS STILL MOSTLY LOCKED DOWN\u00a0with travel restrictions, my social media feed was alive with gorgeous photos from the Maldives.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"16 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.dan.org\\\/id\\\/alert-diver\\\/article\\\/the-maldives\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.dan.org\\\/id\\\/alert-diver\\\/article\\\/the-maldives\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Maldives - DAN World\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.dan.org\\\/es\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.dan.org\\\/id\\\/alert-diver\\\/article\\\/the-maldives\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.dan.org\\\/id\\\/alert-diver\\\/article\\\/the-maldives\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.dan.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/08\\\/q3_76_maldives-e1660323606717.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-08-25T15:13:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-02-08T20:54:50+00:00\",\"description\":\"WHILE THE WORLD WAS STILL MOSTLY LOCKED DOWN\u00a0with travel restrictions, my social media feed was alive with gorgeous photos from the Maldives.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.dan.org\\\/id\\\/alert-diver\\\/article\\\/the-maldives\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"fr-CA\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/world.dan.org\\\/id\\\/alert-diver\\\/article\\\/the-maldives\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"fr-CA\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.dan.org\\\/id\\\/alert-diver\\\/article\\\/the-maldives\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.dan.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/08\\\/q3_76_maldives-e1660323606717.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.dan.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/08\\\/q3_76_maldives-e1660323606717.jpeg\",\"width\":1077,\"height\":564,\"caption\":\"Maldives Aggressor II, April 2022. 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