A Different Point of View
By Ryan Vickers, Independent Film Maker, USA So I have been asked to write this blog, about the expedition, without guidance or parameters. Being neither a scientist nor researcher I no doubt have a different perspective than the rest of the team....
Talking about Turtles
by Charlie Gough, Marine Research Coordinator, Madagascar As the afternoon draws near, a crowd gathers in the centre of the small market town of Maintirano in western Madagascar. Men, women and children find their perches out of the strong rays...
A gift from the ancestors
by Dr Garth Cripps, Senior Conservation Scientist, Madagascar Portuguese sailors first noted the extensive coral reefs and rocky shoals of the Barren Isles on their charts at the beginning of the sixteenth century. Five hundred years later, the marine diversity...
Studying the impact of overexploitation on coral reef fish communities
By Dr Yann Frejaville, Fisheries Scientist, Madagascar Acquiring better knowledge of the ecosystems we belong to is a clear goal for those who work towards the sustainable use of natural resources. Coral Reefs are incredibly complex ecosystems which we are...
Diving in Madagascar
by George (Bic) Manahira, Blue Ventures Dive Manager & Coral Reef Monitoring Coordinator, Madagascar Running parallel to the southwest coast of Madagascar is one of the longest reefs in the world. It starts south of Toliara, the regional capital, and...
A simple yet difficult life
by Thomas, Blue Ventures Research Assistant, Madagascar Vezo history – Who are the Vezo? The indigenous coastal people of western Madagascar are known as the Vezo. The word Vezo originates from the Malagasy verb “to paddle” and is indicative of a...
New magazine launched by former Blue Ventures staff member
By Richard Nimmo, Blue Ventures Expeditions Managing Director Former Blue Ventures Field Scientist and Dive Instructor, Samantha Hewitt, has dreamt about passing on her passion for marine life and sea conservation and finally realised it with the launch of her...
Fishing for information
By Charlie Gough, Marine Research Coordinator, Madagascar Fishing affects all levels of biological organisation, from the individual to populations, affecting their demographic and genetic characteristics as well as communities and ecosystems. Among the many effects of fishing, those referring to...
Diving into the unknown
By Alasdair Harris, BV’s Founder & Research Director, Madagascar The vast reef systems that lie off western Madagascar are some of the least known coral reefs in the western part of the Indian Ocean. Shimmering mountains of calcium carbonate trace the...
Lemurs, Larium and Leanne Rimes: the adventures of the overland tour
By Martine Botha, Blue Ventures volunteer, Madagascar Day One After our first humid night in Antananarivo, we arrived for breakfast at the Hotel Raphia to meet the rest of our fellow BV volunteers and to feast on a standard Madagascan...
Talking Tuna in Tanzania
By Mialy Andriamhefazafy, BV Environmental Policy Officer, Madagascar This week has been a very exciting one in my role as BV’s Madagascar-based environmental policy officer. Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) from around the Indian and Pacific Ocean regions have been meeting here...
The beauty of the baobabs and the birds
By Karen Toque, Blue Ventures volunteer, Madagascar It was time for a break from diving to allow the nitrogen bubbles that had built up in our blood over the past five days spent underwater to leave the body. We decided...
See the sea cucumbers come out at night
By Harry Harty, Blue Ventures volunteer, Madagascar As a non-diving volunteer my 12 weeks here at Andavadoaka are being spent undertaking various terrestrial based activities. Last week BV’s Aquaculture Project Coordinator, Antoine approached me about joining him on one of...
Team bonding in tropical seas
By Colin Engel, Blue Ventures volunteer, Belize It had taken me a few days to settle into the basics of camp life during the previous week, so this week was for me one of beginning to challenge myself in ways...
World population will reach 7 billion by the end of October
By Kame Westerman, Velondriake MPA Project Coordinator, Madagascar According to the United Nations, world population will reach 7 billion at the end of this month. The majority of this growth is in developing countries, where communities are highly reliant on...