Category: Locations
NGO Honko visits Velondriake
By Kame Westerman, Velondriake MPA Project Coordinator, Andavadoaka, Madagascar. The success of Blue Ventures and the Velondriake Locally Managed Marine Area has attracted a great deal of attention from other organizations implementing community conservation activities. In late May, Velondriake members...
Not just about conservation…
By Richard Nimmo, Managing Director, London, UK. For many or even most of the people who interact with Blue Ventures we are likely to be regarded either as a conservation and research organisation or as an ethical tourism company. This...
From southern Madagascar to Rodrigues: promoting dialogue to share lessons learned in fisheries management
By Alasdair Harris, BV’s Founder and Research Director, Antananarivo, Madagascar Throughout southern Madagascar, temporary closures of octopus fishing grounds are emerging as a popular management tool for this economically important fishery. In southwest Madagascar alone, over 100 such fishery closures...
Lionfish Please!
By Garry Phillips, Expedition and Dive Manager, Sarteneja, Belize. Belize fisheries department are in the process of publishing a book of recipes for lionfish. The lionfish cookbook will feature a number of different ways in which the lionfish can be...
Samba-Getty scholars and committee meet to review academic progress
In Toliara, southwest Madagascar, on the 28th of April 2011, the IHSM (Institut Halieuteque et des Sciences Marines) successfully played host to the first meeting for all students supported by the “Roger Samba – J Paul Getty” fellowship programme. As well...
An update from former BV Scholar, Mirana Razafindramboa
By Mirana Razafindramboa, Former BV Scholar, Rochester Institute of Technology, New York State, USA. The zoo in Antananarivo was a strange place in the 1980s. As a child, the lemurs and birds imprisoned in tiny, rusty cages seemed perfectly happy,...
Young conservation leaders attend national workshop to discuss implications of climate change
Youth of today, although often under-represented in policy and decision making, are playing a critical role within global efforts to conserve biodiversity and mitigate the effects of climate change. Within Madagascar, a thriving network of young conservationists is already at...
The Easter Regatta
By Crystal Soutière, Blue Ventures Volunteer, Sarteneja, Belize. After the beautiful full moon on Tuesday April the 19th, we were landed with a couple of days of bad weather at our dive camp which meant that diving was off the...
Living in Eco-Cabins!
By Sally Grice, Blue Ventures Volunteer, Andavadoaka, Madagascar. When we first arrived at Half Moon Beach the first thing that we noticed was the spectacular view across the sea, stretching from Andava Beach and beyond to Coco Beach in the...
Guitarfish a Go-Go- Bribes and barrages in Belo-sur-Mer
By Brian Jones, Community Research Coordinator, Belo-sur-mer, Madagascar. You’ve got to admire the mettle of people who, despite the cards being seemingly insurmountably stacked against them, can still stick to their guns and stand up for what they believe in....
What a great time on Tioman!
By Aniela Frey, Blue Ventures Volunteer, Tioman, Malaysia. Having been there for the two week program, it has been a fantastic time full of new experiences, impressions and growing knowledge! The lectures on biology and ecology have been great fun...
Life in a pirogue
By Georgie Killingbeck, Blue Ventures Volunteer, Andavadoaka, Madagascar. My first experience on a pirogue was our journey to Nosy Hao, a day trip to a nearby island with all the volunteers. It is a very relaxed and gentle way of...
Things Volunteers Do That Make Us Love Them!
By Jen Chapman and Nikkita Lawton, Field Scientists, Sarteneja, Belize. The Blue Ventures Staff have been delighted to host 4 amazing volunteers and our new medic. We love them all so much that we wanted to dedicate our first blog...
Relocating to the bright lights of Toliara
By Shawn Peabody, Conservation Coordinator, Toliara, Madagascar. In September, I left the dramatic ocean sunsets, gently lapping ocean waves, and starry, breezy nights of BV’s Andavadoaka field site for the dust, noise, and stagnant air of the city of Toliara....
30 minutes of fame in Mombasa
By Brian Jones, Community Research Coordinator, Belo-sur-mer, Madagascar. It’s 12:30am, and I’ve just finished talking to myself in the mirror of my hotel room, nestled in a corner of what is probably the best watered garden in all of Mombasa,...