Sailing towards the Barren Isles locally managed marine protected area: tackling the wind and forging ahead
by Olivier Raynaud, Maintirano & Barren Isles Project Coordinator, Madagascar In our quest for a durable and efficient management configuration, in order to preserve and organise the utilisation of the Barren Isles’ precious ecosystems, Blue Ventures has had to address local...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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,...