Joan’s trip from Kwale to Kilwa: witnessing the benefits of octopus fishery closures and gender diversity
Joan Otengo joined Blue Ventures in March 2023 as the Partner Support Coordinator for Kenya. Joan recently participated in a learning visit to Kilwa, Tanzania with the beach management unit (BMU) members from Kwale, Kenya. Here, she shares her personal...
Learning exchanges inspire mangrove forest conservation in Indonesia
Yoga Putra joined Blue Ventures in August 2023 as the Global Senior Communications Officer for Asia-Pacific. Yoga recently participated in a learning visit to Surabaya, East Java in Indonesia, with community representatives from villages in Indragiri Hilir, Riau. Here, he...
Women pilot savings and loan scheme in Timor-Leste to introduce alternative livelihoods in communities
Natercia Verdial joined Blue Ventures in March 2022 as a Fisheries and Livelihoods Senior Manager in Timor-Leste. Natercia uses her expertise to support women to identify and introduce alternative livelihoods in their communities. Here she talks about her recent work...
Empowering Ende: monitoring coral reefs for thriving fisheries
How local expertise and data-driven conservation are reviving octopus fisheries in Ende, Indonesia Arya Dhani joined Blue Ventures in November 2022 as a Fisheries and Data Technician in Indonesia. Arya uses his fisheries management expertise to provide technical support to...
Our first-ever peer-to-peer learning exchange on blue carbon ecosystems in Madagascar
Holly Elgar joined Blue Ventures in 2022 as a Senior Scoping Officer for blue carbon ecosystems. Holly uses her expertise to identify potential sites to expand our community-led mangrove management projects around the world. Here she talks about her recent...
A National Workshop Brings Hope for Senegal’s Artisanal Fisheries
As is the case with countries around the world, Senegal is facing a crisis of depleting fish stocks. Speak to any artisanal fisher in the country, and they will complain about the disappearing fish and the long, dangerous journeys they...
Traditional fishers trained as certified divers
The Barren Isles is an archipelago of nine islands in the Mozambique Channel off of Madagascar’s west coast. Its ecosystem is extraordinarily diverse, comprising vast coral reefs, offshore islands, seamounts, extensive mangrove forests, estuarine marshes, and coastal dunes backed by...
A West Africa Success Story: Communities work together to bring back mangroves
Much of the news coming out of the conservation world is pretty depressing these days: we are approaching a point of no return on climate change, with massive sea level rises and mass extinctions predicted within the next century. In...
What is the Fisheries Transparency Initiative and why is it so important?
In Madagascar, public authorities, fishers, and civil society organisations are working towards improving fisheries transparency and governance. Together, they want to ensure sustainable and fair management of stocks, and enhance the value of a sector that represents between five and...
Progress Made on Fisheries Transparency in Madagascar
In Madagascar, public authorities, fishers, and civil society organisations are working towards improving fisheries transparency and governance. Together, they want to ensure sustainable and fair management of stocks, and enhance the value of a sector that represents between five and...
Participatory Video Inspires Community-Led Seagrass Conservation in Timor-Leste
Despite boasting some of the most biodiverse marine ecosystems in the world, small-scale fishers in Timor-Leste are increasingly concerned about declining daily catches. Participatory video is a powerful community engagement and communications tool that can help uncover hidden challenges and...
Comoros to Kenya: A trip to learn from fellow fishers in Kenya
The sea around Comoros has been the source of livelihood for Bahati Anli, and many like her in Comoros. She comes from a fishing community and is part of Maecha Bora, an all-women fishers association that leads conservation efforts. When...
Meet the communities using data to transform fisheries management
Blue Ventures and partner COMRED held the first community data feedback meeting with people from Kwale County in Kenya to validate fisheries catch and landing data collected from fisheries over three months. The activity was an eye-opener on how communities...
Supporting women in Mozambique to protect their marine areas
Last night, on the eve of International Women’s Day, Mozambique organised a ministerial-level UN debate about how the security council can work together for the common good of women’s empowerment. We asked Habiba Mussa, our colleague in Mozambique, to tell...
Celebrating fishers on the Kenyan coast
In January this year our partner Bahari Hai organised and hosted a conservation festival in Watamu, a small town on the northern coast of Kenya. They invited us to help with the planning and execution of the activities. Our fisheries...