BV’s Fran joins the Fishfight
By Frances Humber, Research Coordinator. The public has been hooked on cod, salmon and tuna for too long and it was time for Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and his ‘Fish Fight’ to highlight the enormous levels of ‘discard’ or waste in EU...
A hard week at the office
Notes from the field, from Blue Ventures expedition manager, Sarah Adams. Bacalar Chico Dive Camp, MesoAmerican Barrier Reef, Belize, 18° 07′ 53.32″ N, 87° 50′ 21.24″ W. One of highlights of this expedition so far happened on consecutive days during...
Guests from Belo-sur-mer visit Velondriake
Over the last several days, Velondriake committee members welcomed more than twenty guests from Blue Ventures’ second site in Belo-sur-mer, located north of Andavadoaka. The group consisted of members of several local communities, representatives of an environmental group and Madagascar...
Kwetu, Community Aquaculture in Mombasa, Kenya
By Shawn Peabody, Madagascar Locally Managed Marine Area (LMMA) Coordinator. I travelled to Mombasa, Kenya last week to attend a workshop developing a proposal to investigate the role that marine ecosystem services play in poverty alleviation around the Indian Ocean. ...
School scholarship recipients start the new school year
By Kame Westerman, Velondriake MPA Project Coordinator. In Velondriake, only 34% of children under the age of 16 currently attend school, and this is usually only primary school; very few remain for secondary education. Dropout rates are high primarily due...
Heading South
By Sean Clement, Blue Ventures Field Scientist. One of the most encouraging aspects of the success of Blue Ventures’ work in the Velondriake marine protected area (http://www.livewiththesea.org/) has been the extent to which many of Velondriake’s approaches to conservation have...
Velondriake community members and Blue Ventures begin tortoise monitoring
By Kame Westerman, Velondriake MPA Project Coordinator. The unique spiny forest thicket of southwestern Madagascar is home to the critically endangered spider tortoise (Pyxis arachnoids), and the region of Lamboara – located in southern Velondriake,- boasts one of the most...
In praise of the situation report!
By Kathleen Edie, Volunteer & Expedition Coordinator. Some will lament, others will cheer that the village of Andavadoaka has joined the digital age. It seems that after 7 long years of twice weekly satellite phone exchanges, the much maligned and...
The Girl Effect
This compelling video premiered at the Clinton Global Initiative Summit in New York in Sept 2010, as part of talks on the UN’s Millennium Development Goals. It is a beautifully crafted film, clearly presenting the choice we face. We often...
Earlier this week, the two mangrove reserves opened again to legal harvest…
By Kame Westerman, Velondriake MPA Project Coordinator. Mangroves are important habitats for juvenile fish, crabs, shrimp and sea cucumbers. Mangrove forests are also popular fishing areas for many local villages, and, without proper management, can become over harvested. In order to protect these...
Visit from northern fishers and women’s association lunch- a busy weekend
By Kame Westerman, Project Coordinator. From Friday to Sunday a group of fishers from Diego (in northern Madagascar) visited to learn about Velondriake’s creation, evolution, and activities. The group of 13 visited sea cucumber and algae farmers , a permanent...
Local University Students visit Blue Ventures
By Kame Westerman. Each year, university students from Tulear travel for two weeks along the southwest coast of Madagascar to visit conservation programs and see what is working well on the ground. This last weekend, twenty students (including four from...
Team Zanga (Sea cucumber in Gasy) waded out during low tide in search of the illusive sea cucumbers
By Matt Hitchiner. Volunteers get muddy spending a couple of days helping in the construction of a new sea cucumber pen for the students in Tampolove, a small village in the South of Velondriake. Once the delivery of juveniles arrives on the 23rd of September it...
Exploring the sea floor
by Kame Westerman, Project Coordinator, Andavadoaka. Standing on Split Rock, with the high-tide watermark well above my head, I’m astonished at how much the tide changes throughout the day; only five hours ago, these rocks that I’m now surrounded by...
Being Creative
By Kame Westerman, Project Coordinator, Andavadoaka. Thanks to a generous donation by a former Blue Ventures volunteer, members of the women’s association in Andavadoaka are currently receiving training in embroidery and tailoring. For four weeks, the women are spending several...