Soneva, a luxury resort brand, has partnered with the Olive Ridley Project (ORP) to launch a new sea turtle rehabilitation centre in Noonu Atoll, Maldives. Located at Soneva Jani, it is ORP’s largest centre in the country. The facility provides care for turtles that no longer need intensive treatment but aren’t ready for release into the wild.
Soneva Jani has worked with ORP since 2017. Recently, they welcomed Neus Segura, the new Sea Turtle Biologist, and Maldivian intern Nawha Ibrahim. They manage daily operations at the centre under ORP’s veterinary team, the largest in the Maldives. Neus and Nawha remove ghost nets, rescue turtles, monitor nests, and expand a sea turtle database for Noonu Atoll through photo identification.
Ghost nets, or discarded fishing gear, have long threatened marine life. In the 1970s, an estimated 640,000 tonnes of ghost gear entered the oceans annually, making up 10% of plastic pollution. This figure has likely grown. Olive ridley sea turtles are particularly vulnerable, often found entangled or floating injured in Maldivian waters. Dr. Martin Stelfox founded the Olive Ridley Project in 2013 to combat this. The project rescues and rehabilitates injured turtles. Since opening its first centre in 2017, ORP has released 141 sea turtles into the ocean.
On 14th September, 2024, the centre admitted its first patient, Nakaiy, an adult female olive ridley sea turtle. Rescuers found her tangled in a ghost net in Lhaviyani Atoll, injured in the neck, mouth, and left flipper. These injuries caused significant mobility loss. Since her rescue, Nakaiy has shown improvement after an extensive medical treatment plan. However, she still faces a buoyancy disorder and continues her dive training at Soneva Jani. Nakaiy now receives Targeted External Weight Therapy (TEWT) and special feeding sessions to encourage natural diving.
Guests at Soneva Jani can experience these conservation efforts firsthand. Guided tours introduce visitors to patients like Nakaiy and share their inspiring recovery stories. Additionally, expert-led discussions with Neus and Nawha highlight the dangers turtles face and the care they receive. Moreover, these educational experiences offer guests a closer connection to marine conservation, raising awareness about the importance of sea turtle rehabilitation centres.
