Tag: sea cucumber
Farming the sea: sharing learning in Zanzibar
Our aquaculture team shared their experiences with community-based sea cucumber farming at a learning exchange in Zanzibar.
An aquaculture adventure: visiting Tampolove’s sea cucumber farms
A group of Blue Ventures volunteers recently visited the village of Tampolove in southwest Madagascar to learn about the sustainable aquaculture initiatives there.
Mama Bevata: Tampolove’s new security watchtower
Sea cucumber farmers in Tampolove are now protected by a state of the art watchtower designed to deter potential thieves from making off with valuable stock.
Dingadigana: an alternative livelihood opportunity in northwest Madagascar
As fisheries face unprecedented pressures, coastal communities are looking for economic opportunities beyond fishing. The villages of Ambiky and Ambolobozo have responded with an innovative and promising new aquaculture project: sea cucumber farming.
New beginnings across the Mozambique Channel
Support partnerships with the Endangered Wildlife Trust and Peace Parks Foundation are set to integrate community health services into coastal resource management efforts in two of Mozambique’s most critical marine ecosystems.
Expedition volunteers hit north Velondriake!
[avatar user=”madison” size=”thumbnail” align=”left” link=”http://blog.blueventures.org/author/madison/” target=”_blank” /] by Madison Kane, Expedition Manager, Madagascar Blue Ventures’ expeditions, is by no means just focused on diving. Though dive training and surveying plays a large part in expeditions life, there are many opportunities...
Project integration: expeditions meet aquaculture
By Madison Kane, Expedition Manager, Madagascar On a Friday afternoon, after some beautiful morning dives, the expedition volunteers eagerly await their ride to Tampolove; a trip I have always said is one of my favourites. Jaws drop and gasps of...
The most valuable marine resources in Madagascar
by Fran Humber, Conservation Programmes Manager, UK I have just visited NW Madagascar, speaking to shark fishers and community members to explore the potential for expanding our mobile phone data collection on shark fisheries to this region. Up to this...
A theory of change: communities think critically about pathways to sustainable management
By Cicelin Rakotomahazo, blue forests socioeconomic scientist, Madagascar A few months ago, the blue forests team set out to facilitate a “Theory of Change” exercise with communities from nine villages in the Bay of Assassins, in the Velondriake locally managed marine area in southwest Madagascar. The Bay of...
Aquaculture under the stars in Tampolove
By Johanna Medvey, Blue Ventures volunteer, Andavadoaka, Madagascar We bump along the sandy tracks leading away from Andavadoaka, perched in our trusty ox carts as the sun rises and tinges the baobab trees pink. Our group of nine volunteers and three staff...
Using the right tools for the job: my experiences with TESSA
by Lalao Aigrette, Senior Blue Carbon Scientist, Toliara, Madagascar According to my colleagues, Kenya is my second home, as this trip marks my sixth visit to the east African country. I recently attended a follow-up workshop about the uses of the Toolkit...
Entering the third dimension in Belo sur Mer
By Jérémie Bossert, Belo Sur Mer Coordinator, Madagascar Finally Madagascar has a democratically elected president! Things here have a tendency to move slowly, be it getting an authorisation signed, ordering a new generator part, or even electing a president. However,...
Development of a community aquaculture project: going beyond for real sustainability
by Minnie Lanting, ex-Velondriake Programme Coordinator, and Antoine Rougier, Aquaculture Consultant, Madagascar This is Blue Ventures’ approach to promoting sustainable alternative livelihoods through our community-based aquaculture programme. Instead of giving one-off donations or handing out money to local fishers, the...
Spicing up aquaculture: experiences from our regional workshop in Zanzibar
by Jo Hudson, Conservation & Communications Officer, London As I stepped off the plane in Stone Town, Zanzibar, the heat hit me like a slap the face and I was dazzled by the sunlight – I thought to myself “Toto...
Staff Q&A with Antoine Rougier, Aquaculture Advisor
In the fifteenth instalment in our series of Q&As with Blue Ventures staff, we ask Antoine Rougier, our Aquaculture Advisor (previously our Aquaculture Coordinator for 3 years in Madagascar), some searching questions about science, conservation and superpowers… What is your...