Year: 2012

Fighting for sustainable tuna fisheries in Kenya

by Mialy Andriamahefazafy, Environmental Policy Specialist, Madagascar For the last two years I have attended the Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and Private Sector consultative meetings organised by WWF East Africa. The session gathers NGOs, fishery associations and private operators involved in...

/ Dec 21, 2012

The highs and lows of the octopus project

by Sophie Andriamalala, Southwest Regional Coordinator, Madagascar For the last two weeks the octopus team in Toliara have spent 10 hours a day staring at our computer screens and cleaning, checking and organising over 900 notebooks filled to the brim with...

/ Dec 11, 2012

Making moves towards Madagascar’s first mangrove carbon project

by the Blue Forests Team, Madagascar Madagascar’s 5,600 km coastline includes Africa’s third largest extent of mangroves: an estimated 213,000 hectares! These “blue” forests take and store significant amounts of carbon dioxide and support a diverse and in many cases...

/ Dec 7, 2012

Asian delights

This is part 2 of the blog series on our recent trip to Hong Kong for the annual Seafood Summit. Read part 1 here: http://blog.blueventures.org/from-toliaras-sights-to-hong-kongs-bright-lights/ by Sophie Benbow, Southwest Regional Coordinator, Madagascar Visiting Hong Kong, ‘Asia’s World City’ as the tourism board...

/ Nov 30, 2012

Declare your support for our oceans!

Here at Blue Ventures we work hard to help conserve the marine riches of Madagascar and Belize, but did you know that there are problems in the developed world too? Once upon a time Europe’s seas teemed with fish such...

/ Nov 23, 2012

Mangrove madness and reserve success in Antanimanimbo

by Jérémie Bossert, Belo sur Mer Conservation Coordinator, Madagascar It’s the 23rd of September 2012, and dawn is breaking on the fifth reserve opening in the Belo sur Mer region, today in the village of Antanimanimbo. After six months without any...

/ Nov 22, 2012

Maintirano’s moment of glory: the Journée Nationale de la Pêche et de l’Aquaculture

by Olivier Raynaud, Maintirano and Barren Isles Project Coordinator, Madagascar September 19th to 21st 2012 found our little town in quite a frenzy as it hosted the National Day for Fishing and Aquaculture (JNPA). Typically, the narrow streets of Maintirano...

/ Nov 20, 2012

Ravao’s story: from 12 children to community health worker

By Dr Vik Mohan, Medical Director, UK I recently spent a hectic and intense couple of weeks in the village of Andavadoaka, the village where our community health programme is based, during my annual visit to Madagascar. Although I founded this initiative...

/ Nov 15, 2012

Culling me softly…

by Hayley McKenzie, Blue Ventures volunteer, Belize The divers hunt in a pack, eyes peeled for the distinctive feathery spines peeking out from behind a rock, huddled into the reef or perched on top of a spur. On sighting a...

/ Nov 8, 2012

Blue forests: behind the scenes…

by Samir Gandhi, Blue Forests Research Assistant, Madagascar A lot has changed for me in 12 months, undoubtedly for the better. Just over a year ago I was stuck in a dead-end office job; now, I am working for Blue Ventures...

/ Oct 31, 2012

BV lovin

by Taylor Mayol, Communications and Programme Development Officer, Madagascar August is a particularly special month for Blue Ventures’ (BV) Madagascar based staff. Each year the entire team journeys across the expanse Madagascar to our main base of operations in the...

/ Oct 30, 2012

Schools (not) out for summer

by Marzia Garin, Education and Scholarships Coordinator, Madagascar It’s September in Andavadoaka, and like many places across the world, the school year is about to begin. However, unlike many places across the world, these students are genuinely excited about the...

/ Oct 29, 2012

Trading information in Tanzania

by Mialy Andriamahefazafy, Environmental Policy Specialist, Madagascar Last July, Blue Ventures had the chance to share our work in Madagascar during the 16th biennial International Institute of Fishery Economics and Trade (IIFET) conference, in Dar es Salam. The theme of the...

/ Oct 26, 2012

Success in Mexico at the 2012 HRI Regional Partner Meeting

by Jen Chapman, Country Coordinator, Belize In August this year, I made my way up to Mexico to represent Blue Ventures at the Healthy Reefs Initiative (HRI) first annual regional partner meeting. With representatives from Honduras, Guatemala, Belize and Mexico,...

/ Oct 25, 2012

BV’s science informs and engages at the International Coral Reef Symposium

By Dr Tom Oliver, Scientific Advisor to Blue Ventures, Hawaii and Dr Al Harris, Research Director, London. Every four years, the world is brought together by not one, but two kinds of summer Olympics, that build the international ties that...

/ Oct 19, 2012