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The President of the Maldives has paid a surprise visit to the international Nekton Mission to offer support to ocean scientists in their quest to find answers that can help unlock the secrets of the deep.
President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih knows no maps exist of Maldivian waters beneath 30 metres – but that is changing by the hour. Four Maldivian aquanauts, who met President Solih on board, have journeyed to 500 metres below the surface in the past two days. The president saw data they collected – which Nekton marine biologists and mapping experts are now analysing. President Solih was accompanied by government ministers who explained how critical Nekton’s work is for the nation’s understanding of what lives in the deep ocean.