Full Circle Digital Magazine August 2013 | Page 23

M A R I N E

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GEORGINA JONES • GEOFF SPIBY

2. The Maldives

Or else, there’s the Maldives. Less than half a percent of the Maldives is actually land, so it really is an ocean country, born from a chain of longextinct volcanoes which sprung up along a fault line in the Indian Ocean. The volcanoes have long since been eroded and all that is left is the fringing coral reefs which built up around them. The sea has made gaps in these atolls and the shallow lagoons are a haven for all sorts of fish, which mean they are also a hunting ground for the big predators, which swoop in through the gaps in search of their prey. And prey there in huge numbers. Schools of fish so dense they block out the light swim along the coral walls. Shyer animals hide under overhangs and stealthy ambush predators rely on immobility and camouflage to hunt. The coral walls drop off into deep ocean where sharks and mantas wait. Even blue whales swim through this fishy country on their mysterious migrations.

FULL CIRCLE DIGITAL MAGAZINE AUGUST 2013

Whalesharks are the largest fish in the sea but live on tiny plankton.