Maldives and the Scourge of the Ocean

In late October 2022, Living Ocean’s David Cousins and Simon Hayward undertook a surfing adventure to the most southern section of the Maldives.

 For ten days they hunted perfect waves in the remote southern Gaafu Dhaalu region of Huvadhoo Atoll, on-board the Maahavi, a traditional Maldivian cruiser, with eight other ocean-loving surfers.

 The area, known as the Outer Atolls, remains the most secluded and idyllic in the Maldives, preserving the dream of a remote island paradise complete with incredible waves.

 The reality, however, is that even this isolated coral rim, located in the middle of the Indian Ocean, hasn’t been able to escape the scourge of ocean bound plastics.

 For the Living Ocean team and their friends, the sight of beautiful uninhabited islands littered with plastic waste was heartbreaking. So, the team decided to take it upon themselves to do what they could in the limited time available, and conduct beach cleans when the opportunity arose to go ashore.

 These photos are from an afternoon cleaning Ghost Island, a tiny uninhabited island named after the poor local souls that had their graves exhumed and moved to this island to make way for a luxury resort.

 After hours of plastic collection, they only made a small dent in the plastic waste that was chocking the shores, and with 255 islands in Huvadhoo Atoll alone, it brought home to the team the enormity of the plastics challenge our oceans face.