Lecture: Protecting Gentle Giants at 20 Meters Deep: Six Senses Laamu and the Manta Trust by Megan Latta and Beth Taylor

TIME: Refreshments from 7pm, lecture from 7.30pm

VENUE: Salon 1, Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi Hotel and Villas, Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi

LECTURE TITLE:  Protecting Gentle Giants at 20 Meters Deep: Six Senses Laamu and the Manta Trust by Megan Latta and Beth Taylor

LECTURE SUMMARY: Six Senses Laamu, as is the case with almost every resort in the Maldives, relies heavily on the health and vibrancy of its surrounding marine life and reefs. What makes Six Senses Laamu especially unique, however, is not only its awareness of the stunning natural resources on its doorstep, but also its distinctive location as the only resort in the Laamu Atoll. With access to the famous Yin Yang surf break, multiple channel and beautiful lagoon dive sites, and the one-of-kind Hithadhoo Corner Manta Ray aggregation site just minutes away, Six Senses Laamu understands the importance of maintaining the pristine location and has committed to supporting marine conservation through various projects.

Recognizing the rarity of its resident manta ray population at the region’s most consistent aggregation site, in 2013 Six Senses Laamu began supporting the Manta Trust, a UK based NGO that aims to protect the world’s manta ray population through research, awareness and education. Three years later, with over 100 individual mantas identified, nearly 2,000 sightings catalogued, and with the completion of the country’s' first ever manta ray measurement study using lasers, the partnership between the resort and the Manta Trust has developed to levels never anticipated. The continuation of this unique collaboration and of the year-round research of these majestic creatures makes Six Senses Laamu the ideal location for not only divers hoping to explore stunning new dive sites, but also cutting edge marine research.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS: 

Beth Taylor, a graduate of the University of York's Marine Environmental Management Masters Program, is the Project Manager of the Manta Trust's Laamu Atoll project. Having led the project for this international NGO for the past three years, Beth has managed the manta identification project at Six Senses Laamu and has since elevated manta ray research there by introducing various new methods of data collection not only to Laamu, but also to manta ray research in the Maldives itself. Prior to her work at the Manta Trust, Beth worked on numerous coral reef health and shark population projects in various locations in the Caribbean.

Megan Latta is the current manager of sustainability projects at Six Senses Laamu, a five star luxury resort in the southern Maldives. A recent but dedicated inductee into the world of marine conservation, Megan helps manage projects on site, including the Manta Trust's research at the local manta ray cleaning station and dive site, Hithadhoo Corner. Manta Trust researchers are now undergoing manta ray imagery and a type of measuring that takes place nowhere else in the Maldives and only a few other locations throughout the world. With this research, Six Senses Laamu hopes to contribute to the worldwide campaign of protecting the limited and unique manta ray population. Six Senses Laamu also recently began a partnership with Blue Marine Foundation to improve not only local grouper spawning sites, but also the grouper fisheries of the Maldives as a country. This project, which officially began on site in July of 2016, hopes to investigate what measures should be taken in order to establish a healthy grouper fishery while also managing the country's grouper export trade. With these projects, Six Senses Laamu not only hopes to educate their guests on the importance of marine conservation, but also make a lasting and important impact on the ocean's on which it relies.

This talk has been arranged with the support of Elegant Resorts.  Renowned for excellence, Elegant Resorts is a luxury travel specialist established in the UK in 1988.  The Dubai office launched in 2015, catering to discerning individuals seeking tailor-made  holidays and experiences. From sophisticated city breaks to hideaways and eco-retreats, Elegant Resorts creates bespoke itineraries to suit all tastes.   For more information please visit www.elegantresorts.ae