Miyaru - Maldives Shark Research & Conservation Programme

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Miyaru - Maldives Shark Research & Conservation Programme

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Maldivian NGO and research network bringing together scientists, conservationists, and community members on a mission to study, document, and further protect the shark populations of the Maldives and surrounding waters.

02/10/2026

A few moments from our daily life at the Maldives Shark Research and Conservation Centre. 🦈

This past month, we’ve welcomed countless visitors from across the Maldives (and the world), held film screenings, worked on building new equipment in the lab, and watched our research team grow. Some of our youngest visitors have even become regulars, dropping by to read books, and learn about sharks almost every day.

With our doors open every day from 9–5, it’s been great to see the Centre truly become a place where people from all ages come together to dive deeper into our work and the sharks of the Maldives. 🙌🏾

30/09/2026

📍DHIGURAH, SOUTH ARI ✨ we have arrived ✨
Sanfagedhiya and sanya 🥝 are hosting our 6th community session in field, where we are surveying leopard shark habitats. Everyone is invited!

29/09/2026

🚨 Guitarfish Milestone Alert 🚨

Together we have now identified 100 individual Madi Miyaru🦈 Madi Miyaru means “ray-shark” in Dhivehi - and it fits them much better than their English name “Bottlenose Wedgefish” 😉

The Maldives is one of its last remaining safe havens in the Indian Ocean for this Critically Endangered Species..

Each Madi Miyaru has a unique pattern of spots, allowing us to recognise individuals from photographs and videos. Every sighting helps us learn where they live, reproduce and how human activities, including land reclamation, may affect their future.

To everyone who has shared a photo or helped us search for Madi Miyaru: thank you - this truly is a collective effort.

Have you seen one? Submit your photos through the Maldives Shark Hub. If it’s a new individual, you’ll get to name it and receive a certificate!

Interested in partnering with us to expand this project? Drop us a message at [email protected]!

Chase endangered

24/09/2026

THULUSDHOO, KAAFU 📍 The Spot On team has arrived! 🦈

We’re here surveying habitats and learning more about the leopard sharks that use these waters, and we need your involvement.

Join us for a community session to learn more about leopard sharks, what the Spot On Project is doing, and how your local knowledge and observations can contribute to the research.

Whether you’re a dive instructor, guide, local resident, tourist, or simply curious about sharks, everyone is welcome!

17/09/2026

🐆🦈 FULIDHOO, WE’RE COMING TO YOU!

Join us this Saturday, 19 September at Kinan Beach Club for an evening all about leopard sharks and the Spot On Project.

We’ll be chatting about leopard sharks, what we’ve been working on, and most importantly, how you can get involved. We’ll also be running a short community survey at the end, and we’d love to hear from as many of you as possible.

Dive instructors, guides, tourists, locals, ocean lovers, curious humans… everyone is welcome! 🌊

📍 Kinan Beach Club, Fulidhoo
📅 Saturday, 19 September
🌙 Evening (should be 18:30 start)

Come by, learn a little, share what you know, and help us better understand and protect leopard sharks in the Maldives.

And yes… Spot On sticker packs will be available for purchase! 👀🦈

See you there! 🤍

07/09/2026

Meet “Alai”, the newest addition to our collaborative shark catalogue for the Northern Atolls - and the first male from Lhaviyani! This shark pup was found with a hook lodged in its mouth, at Six Senses Kanuhura. With Hadin from MUI (Maldives Underwater Initiative by Six Senses Laamu) there to lend a hand, the team was able to safely remove the hook before releasing the little one. The shark was named Alai, after the son of one of the water sports staff members who first spotted the shark, Navyz.

Encounters like Alai’s are an important part of understanding sharks during the most vulnerable stages of their lives. Since 2023, our team has been documenting neonate and juvenile sharks across the Maldives alongside collaborators from NGOs based in different atolls, using photo-identification and recording interactions with fisheries. Together, these observations help us understand where young sharks occur, the pressures they face, and how incidental bycatch may affect them during these critical early stages of life.

Every sighting adds valuable information to our understanding of juvenile shark distribution across the Maldives and helps identify areas that may serve as important nursery habitats.

If you see a neonate or juvenile shark - of any species, anywhere in the Maldives - please photograph it and submit your sighting to the Maldives Shark Hub. By bringing together observations from across the country, we can strengthen the evidence needed to identify and ultimately protect areas that are important for the next generation of these apex predators.

A huge thank you to the MUI team and Hadin for this amazing effort!

📸 Credits: Henley Spiers Jade Hoksbergen MUI by Six Senses Laamu 𝐻𝒶𝒹𝒾𝓃𝟨𝟧

23/08/2026

Join us for a special screening the award-winning documentary of “Ocean with David Attenborough” — a breathtaking journey beneath the surface, celebrating the extraordinary life of our blue planet and reminding us just how much there is still to protect.

More than a film night, this is a chance to come together around marine wildlife, learn about the biggest challenges facing the ocean and ask questions about conservation filmmaking to our special guests.

🎬 Ocean with David Attenborough
🌊 Special screening + guest Q&A
📍 Maldives Shark Research & Conservation Centre FVM
📅 24 August 2026 @ 7pm

Come for the film. Stay for the conversation and hear stories from behind the camera. We promise you will leave inspired to look at the ocean and the Maldives a little differently.

Supported by Revive Our Ocean 10% For The Ocean and Submersa Studios

17/07/2026

The Maldives’ first dedicated Shark Research & Conservation Centre is now officially open. 🦈

What began as a dream during a conversation around a kitchen table is now a real place where people from all ages can come to learn about the country’s apex predators through educational exhibits and community events.

Together with the Fuvahmulah City Council, we celebrated this milestone on Shark Awareness Day with an opening ceremony, Quran recital, a speech from the Mayor, and reflections from our team on the journey that brought us here.

Watching friends, families, students, dive professionals, visitors, and community members fill the centre - sharing hedhikaa, exploring the exhibits, and discovering the stories behind years of research - was a moment we’ll always treasure.

Our vision is that this centre becomes a place where science feels accessible to everyone. A place where people can discover - and get involved in! - the research happening in Maldivian waters by our team members and collaborators from across the country, and where young people can begin to imagine themselves as the next generation of shark scientists.

A new chapter begins!

📷: Fuvahmulah City Council Ahmed "Ricky" Mohamed | Ocean Advocate & Storyteller

14/07/2026

Today, in a few hours (!) we are officially opening the Maldives Shark Research & Conservation Centre in Fuvahmulah - the first dedicated facility of this kind in the country.

More than just our HQ or a laboratory, this is a place where science, conservation, education, and community come together. An open space for researchers, students, dive professionals, local communities, and visitors to learn, collaborate, exchange ideas, and get involved in our projects across the Maldives.

Inside you’ll find research facilities, exhibits, educational displays, and a hub for citizen science and collaboration. From hands-on field research to community outreach and training events, this centre represents a new home for our work in the Maldives.

This milestone would never have been possible without the incredible support of our team, volunteers, partners, donors, friends, and the community. Thank you to everyone who believed in this vision and helped turn it into reality.

Welcome to the Maldives Shark Research & Conservation Centre. 🇲🇻🦈

18/06/2026

If you are working and living on Maafushi Island, join us for next The Spot On Project: Stakeholder engagement meeting on Indo-Pacific Leopard Sharks 🦈

🗓 Friday 19th June
🕖 18:30 - 19:30
📍 Triton Exotica

Come to understand more about our project and how critical your involvement is 🙌🏽

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http://www.miyaru.org/

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