The Marine Research Centre, in partnership with the Maldives National University and with exclusive sponsorship of Soneva, successfully concluded the second Symposium of the biennial Maldives Marine Science symposia series on 24^th July 2018. This key event in the marine science field in the Maldives aims to provide an opportunity for researchers to present their work and facilitate dialogue among peers and to encourage aspiring Maldivian researchers to foster a career in marine science profession.

This year’s symposium was also special as the proceedings were dedicated to the International Year of the Reef (IYOR) and raise awareness on coral reef conservation and marine science amongst the public. Further, a photo competition themed ‘People and coral reefs’ were announced at the MMSS2018 to celebrate IYOR, offering photography equipment as prizes, with generous sponsorship from Soneva. It is hoped that these initiatives would build awareness on threats faced by coral reef systems of the Maldives and on conservation of coral reefs.

Papers from five important thematic areas, covering wide ranging topics reflecting key challenges of managing coral reef systems in the Maldives, were presented at this year’s Symposium. The five thematic areas of the symposium were, (1) Conservation, Fisheries and Management (2) Coral bleaching and Reef restoration, (3) Island and Reef Geomorphology (4) Marine megafauna and (5) Reef ecology. A total of 20 oral presentations and 13 poster presentations were delivered at the event.

Marine Research Centre, as the organizers of the Symposium series, hope that these events will facilitate exchange of knowledge and ideas that would eventually benefit coral reefs through collective effort in understanding the coral reef ecosystem and better management practices.

MMSS2018 abstract booklet can be downloaded from here