Around the Maldives’ resorts, nature is putting its best on display and lets you get up close and personal with one of the Earth’s most ancient creatures, the sea turtle.

We have known for decades that the waters around Kuredu Resort & Spa are no exception when it comes to the Indian Ocean’s striking richness of biological diversity, and during Dr. Jillian Hudgins’ visit we were again reminded that this is indeed a very special place, one that needs to be conserved for the years to come.

Dr. Hudgins, a project scientist at The Olive Ridley Project, presented the turtle conservation efforts in the Maldives, foremostly the urgent need to take action against ghost nets (fishing nets that have been discarded, abandoned or lost in the ocean), and expressed appreciation of everything we are doing to nurture the sea turtles around the resort and wider.

It has been uncovered that the waters around Kuredu are a real treasure, with 10:1 Green to Hawksbill ratio, which is very uncommon in the Maldives. The turtles at Kuredu Caves (accessible to scuba divers and snorkellers alike) and on the house reef are there predominantly due to the abundant source of food – seagrass. Most of the turtles are in fact juveniles, and are using the island as a growing area – comfortable from the protection offered on the house reef, Caves and Kuredu Express.

Over 60 turtles have been identified in the Lhaviyani Atoll, with over 40 being resident around our island. To pay respect to them, we actively encourage our guests to take care about our special ‘repeater community’ as much as we do.

We created a conservation section on our website with information about Kuredu’s turtle community, including several fun facts and the code of conduct for when the time comes for you to meet face to face with a member of Kuredu’s VIP VVIP repeaters.

Where did you spot Kuredu’s turtles and how did you feel the first time one swam past you? Were you maybe even lucky to see turtle hatchlings and helped them crawl to the ocean? We want to hear your best turtle stories!