Yannick and Sylvie Solandt, who have just finished year 9 and 11 at John Kyrle High School, are embarking on a week-long expedition to travel around the central Maldives with Biosphere- Expeditions and the Marine Conservation Society. They will learn the internationally renowned ‘ReefCheck’ method, and will record any encounter with rare sharks, manta rays, and even hopefully, the whaleshark – the world’s largest fish.

The Marine Conservation Society’s Coral Reef expert, Dr Jean-Luc Solandt, has been working at the MCS for 15 years, and has been waiting for the opportunity to take his children out with him on one of his expeditions:

Dr Solandt said: “Yannick and Sylvie have done really well to learn to dive in Egypt in February half-term, and can now go on to become accredited citizen scientists, and help me with my research, along with an international team of volunteers.”

He added: “After years of being force-fed Cousteau DVDs, they at last get to see and learn about what I’ve been going on about.”

The expedition leaves aboard the impressive MV Theia, returning on Friday, July 27th to ‘Male’, the capital of the Maldives. The expedition is the eighth since Biosphere-Expeditions started working with Dr Solandt in the Maldives in 2011. Since that time, over five Maldivian marine biologists having been trained in ReefCheck, have gone on to become trainers, whilst important reports of ‘coral bleaching’ and survival have been published with local collaborators. We now better understand the survivorship of the reefs when climate impacts them.

At least 50 other volunteers have joined the research trip to record sightings of corals, ‘grouper’ (a type of reef fish), sharks and a dazzling array of parrotfish. Whalesharks have been reported and identified in collaboration with the Maldives-based Whaleshark Research Programme. These records are made at a famous hotspot for sharks – the mamigili marine protected area at the southern extent of the expeditions travels. In total, the Theia will travel for over 100km and survey six reefs.

Yannick Solandt, who will be starting his A-levels next year, said: “The ReefCheck training will help me understand and identify the different aspects of the reef. And how they interconnect with one another. I’m delighted to have this opportunity to help local conservation efforts.”