Staying Safe Under Water
Seven Holidays - Your Guide to Maldives Resorts & Holidays

The key is simply don’t touch.

If divers stay buoyant and snorkelers don’t handle, stand or sit on the reef, then any threat is next to zero.

The sharks, barracudas and moray eels look fearsome to their prey, But when humans swim into view the sharks simply move away. Barracudas sometimes follow divers inquisitively, wondering if these strange bigger creatures might leave them anything to scavenge, but will do nothing more than the morays, who duck down in their holes to watch carefully. There is no history of shark attacks in the Maldives.

Stingrays, which dust themselves with sand at the bottom of lagoons, swim off when divers get close. Stonefish and scorpionfish remain confident of their own camouflage. They are extremely venomous, but there is no danger for buoyant divers and a good instructor will point them out for interest. Lionfish and firefish are also poisonous, but only use their venom in defence. They don’t hide so they are easy to avoid and beautiful to watch.

The titan triggerfish is the only fish that will actually come for you if you get too close during its mating season. It will tilt sideways and fly at you fearlessly. Usually these are bluff charges and you should swim away promptly and horizontally (it is defending a vertical cone-shaped zone). But once I couldn’t warn my divedive buddy in time and he received a sharp nip through his wetsuit.

 

Treating coral stings

Any stings will be treated by immersing the wound and the limb in hot water to break down the protein poison. A sting from fire corals is treated with vinegar, to denature the poison, and cortisone cream for the rash which may last a few days. These feathery hydroids are common around the reefs and will sting any uncovered flesh that brushes against them.

The other caution with corals is that they are brittle and sharp – tiny bits can get into the skin and are a pain to extract. Another reason not to touch.

On technical matters, there are two decompression chambers in the country. One on Bandos and the other on Kuramathi. The emergency procedures for divers in trouble are now well rehearsed, including evacuation by seaplane.

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About the Author

Adrian Neville - Seven Holidays : Your Guide to the MaldivesAdrian Neville lived in the Maldives and writes the definitive guide book: "Resorts of Maldives", now in its fifth edition. Having tirelessly reviewed every single resort, he is now continually asked ‘which is the best Maldives Hotel for my holidayholiday or vacationvacation?’ Enter SevenHolidays.com – his comprehensive independent guide to Maldives holidaysholidays and how to book your perfect holiday. We cover everything from the cheap island resorts through to the luxury five star Maldives resortshow to book your perfect holiday. We cover everything from the cheap island resorts through to the luxury five star Maldives resorts