Category: Programmes
Have you ever encountered a live sea cucumber?
by Taylor Mayol, Communications and Programme Development Officer, Madagascar I hadn’t either until just a few months ago. I knew I was in for a wild ride during my fellowship after I dove into a crystal clear turquoise bay in...
A journey of crab catching in the mangrove channel
by Sylvia Paulot, Blue Forests Scientist, Madagascar As mangrove conservation officer, I have visited many villages in mangrove forests, and talked much with the local people, but I have never really experienced first-hand the daily life of a fisher from one...
Beach seining and how it damages the marine environment
Photos by Garth Cripps (© Blue Ventures 2012) Beach seine fishing is one of the most destructive fishing gears practiced in many areas of the tropical indo-Pacific. For the past five years Blue Ventures has been working closely with Rare...
Studying octopus in southwest Madagascar
By Daniel Raberinary, Community Conservation Coordinator, Madagascar My name is Daniel Raberinary, I come from Majunga, Madagascar, and studied at the Marine Biology Institute at the University of Toliara (IHSM). I finished my masters degree in 2008, which was about octopus reproduction...
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...
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...