Maasha, A Young Dive Master

“I cannot recollect my childhood without the oceans, the waves and corals in it,” says Maasha Amir, aged 23, who is a Dive Master and instructor with over 2,000 dives under her belt.

Maasha says her parents never restricted her from going swimming, “they supported me every step of the way”.

“My father allowed me to borrow his dinghy. I took it to uninhabited islands with friends when I was a kid.”

Maasha also recalled how her dad used to take her swimming, “I learned fishing and surfing with him. My dad still surfs.”

Maasha says she first dived in Olhuveli during her internship in 2018 where she met her husband. She worked in the resort afterward. After Olhuveli, she worked in Irufushi.

From 2022 onwards, she has been working in Herathera Island Resort Maldives situated in Addu, with her husband Nisal.

Maasha and her husband now run the dive-center, of which her husband is a partner. The young divers remarked that diving is now becoming a trend among Maldivians as well, not just guests.

“For the future, we are looking to expand to other resorts as well. We want to run dives in other resorts and local islands. We are submitting proposals.”

“Before I came here, I thought the dive sites would not be nice. Because there’s not much beach here, people say that underwater scenery will not be great either.”

However, Maasha would soon realise this was not the case. She says the coral reefs in the unique Addu atoll are incredibly diverse and beautiful. “The coral reefs are unique, and dead corals are a rare sight.”

Maasha further added, “Waterflow is good. Maybe that’s why it’s beautiful. I’ve seen giant corals near the dive spots here. I’ve seen soft corals that I’ve not seen elsewhere. They took a long time to grow.”

The young diver also shared her concerns about the Addu Development Project which will destroy a lot of these reefs and dive sites.

“Addu reclamation project will likely destroy numerous dive points and manta points around here. These ecosystems took thousands of years to develop. The destruction caused by reclamation will have irreversible consequences.”