The underwater photo competition organized by the Ministry of Tourism to mark the Maldives Tourism Golden Year, is scheduled to take place on September 28, 2022.

The underwater photo competition organized by the Ministry of Tourism in association with Ocean Geographic and Maldives Alliance of Dive Operators (MADO).

According to the Ministry this competition will be held over various years. As such, during this year, 50 best diving spots of Maldives will be selected and dives will be held at the 50 spots at the same time on the same day.

This one-day photo shoot-out of Maldives’ 50 Best Sites will take place from 0730-1730 hours across 50 pre-selected signature dive sites of Maldives on 28 September.

Director and Publisher of Ocean Geographic Michael AW, stated that this is a great opportunity to conduct researches about the Maldivian reefs by comparing the photographs of different reefs taken at the same time.

Both Maldivian and International underwater photographers can join the dive and photography competition, says the Ministry of Tourism. As such, while Maldivian photographers can participate in the competition for free, International participants will have to pay an entrée fee of USD 10.

150 photographs from the event will be showcased during the underwater photography exhibition, to be held on next year January.

All competitors will be acknowledged with a Certificate of Achievement for contribution to the Coral Reef Health Assessment of the Maldives. Competitors must submit a portfolio of five pictures for each site – one wide angle of a reef scene, one close-up of a living coral, one picture of a fish species, and two others of their own choice. A winner, runner-up, and three honorable mentions will be awarded for pictures submitted for each dive site, totaling 250 winners across all 50 sites.

An international judging panel will preside over photograph selection. Prizes will be awarded to Winners and Runner-Ups. The first-place winners and runners-up will grant usage rights of their winning photos to the Reef Health Assessment Project and the Ministry of Tourism Maldives for conservation and promotional purposes. Results will be announced live on 05 October 2022.