The non-profit organisation Olive Ridley Project (ORP) and the innovative luxury resort brand Soneva have announced the inauguration of the Noonu Atoll Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Centre in the Maldives. The largest of ORP’s three sea turtle rehabilitation clinics on the island country, Soneva Jani, acts as a step-down facility for patients who are being prepared to return to the wild but do not require acute veterinary care.
After being discovered entangled in a ghost net on the Lhaviyani Atoll, an adult female olive ridley sea turtle named Nakaiy became the inaugural patient at the Noonu Atoll Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Centre on 14th September 2024. She had damage to her lips, neck, and left front flipper, which significantly reduced her range of motion. Nakaiy has had a thorough medical regimen since being rescued, and she is doing quite well. She still has a buoyancy issue, though, and continues to get specialised diving instruction at Soneva Jani. To encourage natural diving habits, Nakaiy presently undergoes Targeted External Weight Therapy (TEWT) in conjunction with submersible buoy feeding sessions.
Approximately 10% of ocean plastics in the 1970s were thought to be made up of 640,000 tonnes of abandoned fishing gear, sometimes referred to as “ghost gear.” It is anticipated that this number has grown since then. For example, the delicate olive ridley sea turtle is frequently discovered floating wounded on the surface of Maldivian seas or caught in ghost nets. To better understand the issue and assist in the rehabilitation and release of wounded sea turtles, Dr. Martin Stelfox established the Olive Ridley Project in 2013. 141 wounded sea turtles have been repaired and released by the Olive Ridley Project since the establishment of its first marine turtle rescue facility in 2017.
Soneva Jani Maldives has been working with ORP since 2017. Neus Segura, a new Sea Turtle Biologist, and Nawha Ibrahim, a Maldivian intern, just joined the team to run the facility under the daily and direct supervision of the ORP Veterinary Team, which is the biggest and most skilled in the Maldives. Neus and Nawha are also available to help remove ghost nets from the water, monitor nesting activities, aid rescue wounded sea turtles, and provide crucial sea turtle Photo-IDs to create a database of sea turtles on the Noonu Atoll.
As part of Soneva Jani’s ongoing mission to inspire a lifetime of unique experiences, visitors are welcome to take guided tours of the facility to learn about conservation initiatives and the turtle rehabilitation process. During these tours, they will meet resident sea turtle patients, including Nakaiy, and hear about their individual recovery stories. Behind-the-scenes glimpses of the dangers marine turtles encounter and the day-to-day care given at the facility are revealed through expert-led talks with Neus and Nawha. These educational opportunities provide visitors a chance to become involved with regional marine conservation initiatives, raising awareness of the importance of rescue and rehabilitation facilities worldwide as well as the need to conserve sea turtles.
