Tag: coral reef
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...
The end isn’t near, it’s here!
by Chris Miller, BV volunteer, Belize We are now in our last week at Bacalar Chico and we are all so sad that our time here is nearly over. Over the past few weeks we have had an amazing time...
Swimming in an ocean of stars
by Jo Hudson, Conservation & Research Assistant, London On June 25th two members of the Blue Ventures team packed up their promotional materials and headed down to London’s Southbank to take part in the London Aquarium’s an “Ocean of Stars”...
Paradise lost: my final few days in Belize
by Colin Engel, Blue Ventures volunteer, Belize Monday 7 May This is the day we pack up camp and leave. The first boat took the early birds back at dawn to Sarteneja, leaving half of us some further hours to...
Bobbing along on the bottom of the beautiful briny sea….
by Caroline De Willebois, Blue Ventures volunteer, Madagascar Descending into the cool turquoise water below, I am overcome with that well-known sense of utter peace that accompanies the stillness and weightlessness of being underwater. After a few days of not...
Setting up and diving down
by Chris Miller, Blue Ventures volunteer, Belize We are two weeks into our expedition here in Belize and so far have already experienced one of the best celebrations in Sarteneja – the Easter Regatta. To celebrate the regatta we had...
Setting sail: a brief look at migration in southwest Madagascar
By Kame Westerman, Velondriake LMMA Coordinator, Madagascar Human migration can be influenced by a number of factors – political, social, economic, physical, and even cultural. In southwest Madagascar, where Blue Ventures works, migration is an important factor to consider when...
Girl power: the role of Ghana’s fishmongering women
By Mebrahtu Ateweberhan, Ghanaian Research Team, 21st Febuary 2012 It is early morning in Miemia Village, Western Ghana. The sky is hazy from the dust of the recent revisit by the Harmattan winds that mingles with the smoke coming from...
Different fish, same problems…
by Charlie Gough, Marine Research Coordinator, Madagascar& Ghana What makes two communities that live over 5000km apart and different oceans struggle daily with the same problems? When you know that both communities live in coastal villages where the population doubles every 20...
Shark vs Cyclone
by Shanta Barley, Field Scientist, Madagascar What constitutes a duvet day for a Vezo shark fisherman? Not the threat of capsizing in seven metre waves, it turns out. Yesterday, Andava bay was peppered with pirogues en route to the Mozambique...
The boy who cried whale
“A dead whale? Washed up in Antsanaranasoa bay?” Within minutes, a mob of villagers, armed with axes and buckets, was sprinting through the spiny forest, effortlessly hurdling knee-high thorny shrubs, in a race to procure enough fish bait to last...
Starting out in Sarteneja
By Casey Lewis, Blue Ventures volunteer, Belize I arrived in Sarteneja, Belize a little after 5pm – just in time to watch the sunset creep over the small town. Sarteneja is right by the ocean with beautiful views of the...