Monthly Archives: December 2006

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Hi everybody!! My name is Vola and I’m a Malagasy staff member of Blue Ventures in Andavadoaka, Southwest Madagascar. Before I came here, I’ve been living in Florida USA for two years where I completed a MSc in Coastal Zone Management. I’m really keen to work in Andavadoaka. The conservation projects and pionneering research conducted by Blue Ventures in this part of the world are very much needed for the management of marine resources on which the local population depend greatly. In addition to marine conservation, Blue Ventures also works on developing other activities such as ecotourism (bird watching, visit of baobab forests, diving), local arts and crafts and aquaculture to boost the economic potentials of the region and thus reducing negative impacts on natural habitats. I’m mainly involved with shark and turtle catch monitoring, the new Marine Protected Areas and Environmental Education. It’s really exciting!!!


I’ve been living in Andavadoaka for about 2 months and it’s a whole new different experience. I’m getting used to life’s routine on site: staff meeting at 6 pm, “vaovao” time in the evening during which everybody shares news, diving and science training – I finally passed the inwater fish test, yeahh!! -, English and Malagasy teaching and the different conservation projects.
Social life on site is also an important part of the expedition. Games and parties on site are occasions to get to know the volunteers and other staff members a bit more. I do enjoy playing Jungle Speed or tricks after dinner, volleyball in the afternoon, space hopper race on the beach – seems easy if you haven’t ride one yet!! There is a lot going on on party nights. We often have themed parties which can be hilarious!! I’m impressed with everybody’s creativity since there is not a large choice of materials in Andavadoaka. Then we sing songs – the one I like the best being “Salty Dog”. And of course, I don’t want to forget the traditions such as “snorkel test” – it’s very possible to fail -, the passing of the Golden Fleece – that one is for the best volunteer in science so very serious thing!!- and “tay be” for the less geeky people ;) Well, that’s how life is in Andavadoaka. Hope you could travel a bit by reading my blog and maybe you’ll come and visit Andavadoaka!! Cheers all!!

Vola Ramahery
Research Assistant, Nov. 2006

Expedition 26- Volunteer update

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Well, expedition 26 to which I belong is already halfway through! I can hardy believe it, the time is passing more quickly everyday.
I arrived here in November as a newly qualified diver with zero science training, (normally i’m a fashion designer) and armed only with a keen desire to learn as much as I could to be a part of this expedition, and do whatever I could to help conservation. Now, three weeks later I can identify different corals, invertebrates and other benthic life forms as well as fish in the reigon, and am able to collect data for the projects here.
There are so many other things to contribute here as well. I have been whale watching out on one of the Islands (sadly saw no whales), I’ve taught an english lesson in the village school, and assisted the fish monitoring programme, where we meet all the fishermen coming in intheir pirogues, to count, weigh and identify the fish in their catch.
I’ve found a use for my design skills too. I’m designing bags for the local womens group to make and sell and I’m helping to draw a map of the world on the wall of the kids club, “Alo Alo”. There are also costumes and scenery to be made for a play the children will be performing about conservation of the different undersea environments.
The weather is getting hotter by the day, luckily the palm fringed beach is a stones throw from our cabins, so taking a dip in the sea to cool down is never a problem.
Sarah Perrin (Volunteer)

A tail of 17 wrasses…

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Learning to identify the 150 fish species we monitor on the reefs is quite a challenge, and as part of their training volunteers each have to prepare a fish presentation for the group on one of the many families.


A tail of 17 wrasses (in the order they appear in Collins)

According to Collins wrasses are diverse in size and form
So unfortunately there is no wrasse norm
First up is the lyre-tailed hog
Half of it’s white, so think of it as if caught in a very small fog
The only other hog is known as the axil-spot
This is because three black spots it has got
Next up is the hump head wrasse
Rumour has it the hump was caused by a nasty incident with a bass
The reason I failed a test is a wrasse called sling-jaw
It looks nothing like what was in Collins and it might as well have had a paw!
The yellow-tail and white spotted wrasses you could easily confuse
Remember that the yellowtail has spots in blue hues
Then there’s a wrasse that is called the yellow breast
Purely between you and me itís not in the computer test
I realised I’d left the triple tail wrasse out at the very last minute
So this poem has nothing about it in it.
The checkerboard wrasse is easy and it lives up to its name
You could lay it on a table, and have a little game
The zigzag wrasse has a black wavy line in the middle
It looks like it was finished then someone had another fiddle
The barred thick lip wrasse is a bit of a weird catch
It’s coloured head and black-and-white body don’t match
Wrasses called Indian Ocean bird look a bit like mice
If you show one to Max, deep down he might say they look ëniiiceí
Easy to know is the gold bar wrasse
Just look at the base of its head and think lots of cash
The crescent wrasse has a colourful head but most of it’s green
I got it confused with a parrot but realised it looks a lot less mean
The six bar wrasse has six black bars
Another distinguishing feature is its red striped head
The cleaner wrasses look similar but you can be quite mellow
Just by remembering that the bicoloured one’s tail is yellow
The blue streak cleaner you’ll be pleased to know is the seventeenth wrasse
Good luck to everybody, I hope you’ll pass
Just one more bit of wrasse-related knowledge
Wrasses in the rear-view mirror may appear smaller than in Collins

Elina HolttoÖ, Finnish volunteer
Six Bar Wrasse

Andavadoaka donates land for eco-lodge

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Andavadoaka’s village leaders have officially donated 3,600 square metres of land for the construction of its new eco-lodge.

Blue Ventures is now developing plans for the lodge which will be fully owned and operated by Andavadoaka and provide the community with a sustainable economic alternative to destructive fishing practices.

Blue Ventures is working to raise £43,000 for construction, and is searching for eco-architects and engineers to help design the lodge to run on clean energy, including wind and solar power, and to be built sustainably from local resources.

Current plans call for the lodge to include a restaurant, a bar and 25 bungalows to house visitors to the area.

We hope to complete the lodge by the summer of 2007. Camping sites will be available in the spring, with resident cooks making meals for visitors.

If you have expertise in sustainable architecture or engineering, or know people who do, let us know and become part of the team to improve livelihoods and natural resources in Madagascar.

Contact Richard Nimmo at richard@blueventures.org or +44 (0)20 8341 9819.