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...
Diving deep in Belize
by Jen Chapman, Country Coordinator, Belize The queen conch (Strombus gigas) fishery in Belize is valued at approximately US$ 3,000,000 per year and engages over 3,000 licensed fishermen nationally. Despite non-destructive fishing methods (free-divers collect conch off the seafloor by...
VIP expeditions
by Thomas Forwood, volunteer, Belize Generally speaking, life at Bacalar Chico Dive Camp (BCDC) is routine. You get up at 5am, breakfast is at 8am and lunch is at 1pm. In between is diving, marshalling duties and other enjoyable responsibilities,...
From Toliara’s sights to Hong Kong’s bright lights
by Sophie Benbow, Southwest Regional Coordinator, Madagascar Arriving in Hong Kong direct from Toliara, southwest Madagascar highlighted some fairly stark contrasts. While Toliara is in fact the sixth largest city in Madagascar, bright lights and fast cars it is not....
Mission possible
by Viviane Jeannie, Scholars Coordinator, Madagascar Part of my job as scholarship coordinator is to purchase school materials for each new school year for all of our sponsored students. In the 2012 – 2013 school year, that meant shopping for...
Kayaks (and kava) to Korea: an insider’s perspective at the IUCN’s World Conservation Congress
by Brian Jones, Conservation Coordinator, Madagascar We’re seated on the floor in a circle at the Blue Planet Pavilion on the 3rd floor of the International Conference Centre in Jeju-Do, South Korea. Confused passers-by bump into each other and turn...
Calling all mothers: Safidy has a new home and maternal & child health programme!
by Dr Clarisse Razanamampionona, Safidy’s Doctor, and Samantha Cockburn, Medical Elective Student. Safidy is part of Blue Ventures’ integrated Population, Health, and Environment (PHE) approach to conservation in the Velondriake area of southwest Madagascar. Safidy, which means “choice” or “freedom...
A message from Madagascar’s largest mangrove forest
by Trevor Jones, Remote Sensing Scientist, Madagascar Greetings from Mahajamba bay, home of Madagascar’s largest mangrove ecosystem. The Blue Ventures Blue Forests team has been stationed here since early August conducting a month long field campaign. Hosted by and working...
Is it a bird, is it a plane? No, it’s bat fish and sea robin! The bemused wanderings of a marine biologist lost at sea…
by our anonymous contact with BatFish & SeaRobin, Madagascar During a post dinner discussion with a colleague in Belo sur Mer, he mentioned that during his trip to the islands of Kirindy Mite, approximately 20 km west of the village...
War and peace: talking about the Barren Isles
by Olivier Raynaud, Maintirano & Barren Isles Project Coordinator, Madagascar I’ve just arrived in the little town of Maintirano as the new project coordinator for the Barren Isles Marine Protected Area (MPA). My first impression is most definitely that Maintirano...
Bigger, better, faster: ‘The Columbian’ has finally arrived!
by Sarah Beach, Field Scientist, Belize This expedition marked another exciting milestone in the history of Blue Ventures Belize (BVB). After almost a year in the making, we finally welcomed the arrival of our brand new boat. Built in Mexico...
A day in the life…
by Kirsty Rankin, BV volunteer, Madagascar Waking up to the relentless crash of breaking waves on halfmoon beach, I groan, turn over, but just before I close my eyes to the temptation of continued slumber I catch the dim glow...
Nosy Hara: the coral island
I was exceptionally excited to be asked to join a team of scientists to help undertake marine resilience surveys in the Nosy Hara archipelago.
The (not so) rum diaries: life in Belize
by Anders Hartmann, BV volunteer, Belize After 1 week at Bacalar Chico Dive Camp (BCDC) we have now learned the routines and the focus has moved towards surveys and passing the fish and benthic tests, both on computer and in...
Smartfish-eries and marine protected areas
by Sophie Benbow, Southwest Regional Coordinator, Madagascar I recently travelled to Mauritius to attend a workshop funded by the FAO and the EU funded Smartfish programme. A very exciting opportunity which generated some very jealous comments from my UK based...