Irthisham hails from the capital city of Male' and goes by her nickname 'Iru'. We're excited that Iru will be taking on a brand new role for the 2019 season, heading up MWSRP's community and industry outreach efforts.

Her pathway to the head of our field team started in her early years with an abundantly obvious passion for the ocean. She has fond recollections of waking up bright and early on weekends to go swimming in the sea with her father and sister and she has been inseparable from the ocean ever since.

Iru has spent seemingly every waking hour building her experience in the marine conservation field, above and below the waves. Starting with an apprenticeship with IUCN during her gap year, Iru then joined the MWSRP field team. After leaving us temporarily to pursue higher education ambitions, she has returned to the Maldives and explored the dive scene, with qualifications as a Reef Check Eco Diver and PADI Divemaster leading to her now being a Green Fins Country Assessor.

Iru is an environmental enthusiast and educator who, to a great extent, prefers the quiet island life of Maldives! Iru has the unique pattern of almost every individual whale shark on the MWSRP database memorised and is able to recognise many of the individuals we encounter on the spot (excuse the pun...)! Iru is happiest by the sea and never strays too far, when she's not in the water swimming with ocean giants or finding nudibranchs she can be found at the beach - usually with an ice cream in hand!

As a former Lead In-Field Coordinator and later Operations Manager, Clara has earned her stripes (and spots...). She spends most of her time coordinating the Big Fish Network. She joined us as a volunteer in 2016 and has been part of the team since 2017.

Clara comes from Mallorca, a small island in Spain. Seeing large megafauna was her childhood dream, which led her to an undergraduate degree in Environmental Sciences and then an MSc in Marine Ecology. Clara has participated in cetacean research projects and fisheries management projects and has helped in a chimpanzee sanctuary and veterinary hospitals. Before joining the MWSRP, she worked as a guide in nature reserves, focusing on sustainable tourism and conservation.

Clara is also currently working as an environmental educator in the Mediterranean Sea and studying for a second master's Degree.

A former volunteer, Chloe is also an accomplished artist, (a costume designer for TV and film no less!). However, her other (some may say 'main')  passion is all things marine. Since her placement with MWSRP in 2018 she has gone on to work as excursion guide in Dhigurah and is currently working her way towards starting an MSc in Marine Biology. We're excited to have someone with Chloe's diverse skills and huge passion involved in the conservation of whale sharks.

My journey into marine conservation began following a very fortunate visit to the Maldives at a young age - an experience which sparked my passion for the ocean and set me on the path to becoming a marine conservationist. That early spark led me to pursue a degree in Marine Conservation at the University of Plymouth in the United Kingdom.

During my undergraduate studies, I had the privilege of working alongside the Maldives Whale Shark Research Programme, to better understand the impacts of tourism on the local population of whale sharks. In 2021, I volunteered with the programme and quickly fell in love with these gentle giants. It became clear that I had discovered a newfound passion - one that inspired me to dedicate my career to understanding and protecting this extraordinary species. My collaboration with MWSRP deepened during my master’s degree in Marine Biology and laid the foundation for my career in conservation. 

After completing my studies, I worked for the Marine Conservation Society in the Seychelles as the Whale Shark Programme Lead, where I also earned my Divemaster certification.

Growing up on a small island in the Maldives, Zim developed a passion for marine life from an early age. She kick started her career in 2016 and is currently pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Marine Science. Zim has worked as a Marine Environment Officer at a resort, where she gained valuable skills in marine and terrestrial surveying, as well as guest communication. As a new member of MWSRP, she looks forward to acquiring new skills and contributing meaningfully to both science and society.

Rich comes from the West coast of Wales and this is probably where his love of the ocean and penchant for day dreaming originates. It took him two research expeditions to the mountains of Papua New Guinea and Kazakhstan to realise just how much he wanted to work by the sea.

Rich worked as a fisherman whilst planning a first expedition to the Maldives with Jim and later for a fisheries monitoring company in Victoria, Canada. Over the years Rich has memorised most of the whale shark spot patterns in the database, which is a good job because chances are he’s forgotten his laptop.

Morgan Riley is a senior British Civil Servant who oversees the spending of British Government development spending in places as diverse as Afghanistan, Rwanda and St. Helena, where he was involved in the creation of the new airport.

Morgan comes from a background of exploring. He was involved in expeditions seeking snow leopards in Kazakhstan, birds of paradise in Papua New Guinea and was part of a scouting trip to Cenderawasih Bay in West Papua well before the whale shark there came to public awareness. He once rode (and to a large part chased) a mule on a traverse of the Moroccan Sahara.

He was a member of the original 2006 Royal Geographical Society funded expedition which preceded the formation of the MWSRP. Morgan was involved in organising the 2007 expedition and was again involved the following year. He was principle author of the first peer reviewed publication outlining the basic demographics of the whale shark aggregation at South Ari atoll in 2010.

In his role as a MWSRP Trustee, Morgan focuses on the financial security and direction of the charity.

Rhodri Lloyd-Williams is a self employed business owner, producer and exporter out of mid Wales.

Rhodri first became involved with MWSRP as a member of the second expedition to South Ari atoll in 2007 and was a key member in the establishment of the charity in the following years. A co-author on the 2010 paper on the whale shark aggregation in what is now SAMPA, he was one of the main architects of the volunteer programme.

As a businessman accustomed to wearing many different hats in his day to day operation, his role as a Trustee focuses on the operation and acting as a steady hand to analyse future projects and potential problems before they can occur.