Category: Locations

Letter from 217 civil groups to EU fisheries ministers

Introduction by Jo Hudson, Conservation & Research Assistant, London As negotiations on the reform of the European Union’s Common Fisheries Policy, or CFP, enter the final and decisive stage, more than 217 civil society groups are calling on EU fisheries...

/ Apr 15, 2013

The overwhelming economic case for protecting our seas

This post first appeared on the @SynchEarth blog on 5 April 2013 by Alasdair Harris, Research Director, UK Easter weekend saw the end of the UK government’s 3-month public consultation on the designation of new marine conservation areas around the coasts...

/ Apr 5, 2013

Playing hide and seek with tortoises

by Rado Lebely, Terrestrial & Fisheries Scientist, Madagascar After six very long months of tortoise hibernation, the Blue Ventures tortoise monitoring team was more than ready to see how abundant the spider tortoises (Pyxis arachnoides) are in the rainy season. We...

/ Mar 28, 2013

A trip to the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology

by Samantha Cockburn, Medical Elective Student with the Safidy programme, Madagascar I’m Sam, a final year medical student currently studying at the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry in southwest England. Four years ago I went to a lecture at...

/ Mar 28, 2013

Blue carbon in Abu Dhabi

by Trevor Jones, Remote Sensing Scientist, Madagascar Lalao Aigrette, fellow BV Blue Forests colleague, and I recently spent a fascinating two weeks in the western coast of the Arabian Gulf. We were participating in the initial research of the Abu...

/ Mar 27, 2013

My visit to the Safidy programme in Andavadoaka

by Samantha Cockburn, Medical Elective with Safidy, Madagascar Three years ago I received an email from my medical school advertising a lecture aimed at local GPs entitled ‘Is Sex Going To Kill Us?’ given by Professor John Guillebaud, Emeritus Professor...

/ Mar 25, 2013

Cyclone Haruna response update (3)

Blue Ventures is continuing to respond to cyclone Haruna, which hit southwest Madagascar as a powerful category 2 storm exactly one month ago on 22nd February 2013. For previous updates about the situation, please follow the links here and here and here. Since the cyclone...

/ Mar 22, 2013

Talking tuna with the UN

by Mialy Andriamahefazafy,Environmental Policy Specialist, Madagascar Tuna management has always been a major focus for our policy work, even though it may seem like a small piece of the puzzle within our very successful community-based fishery management programme. However, we...

/ Mar 20, 2013

Cyclone Haruna response update (2)

Blue Ventures is currently responding to cyclone Haruna which hit southwest Madagascar as a powerful category 2 storm on 22nd February 2013. For previous updates about the situation please follow the links here and here. Haruna is the biggest cyclone that this region...

/ Mar 15, 2013

Antanandahy: where the women rule the mangroves

by Sylvia Paulot and Kate England, Blue Forests team, Madagascar After winding its way west, Madagascar’s Tsiribihina River empties into the Mozambique Channel in a maze of tributaries entwined with mangroves. At the end of last year, Sylvia and Kate...

/ Mar 14, 2013

Cyclone Haruna response update (1)

On Friday 22nd February 2013, cyclone Haruna made landfall over the southwest coast of Madagascar as a powerful category 2 storm, significantly affecting the communities in the Velondriake area where Blue Ventures works. Two weeks later, the road to Toliara (200km to...

/ Mar 8, 2013

Marching for marine protection in England

by Jo Hudson, Conservation & Research Assistant, London On Monday 25th February, the BV London team wrapped up warm and prepared to brave the freezing winter’s day in order to join the thousands of people who were marching on parliament...

/ Mar 8, 2013

Feeling at home in Belize

By Pam Viele, BV volunteer, Belize The Blue Ventures homestay in the quaint fishing village of Sarteneja was the perfect way to experience the culture of this lovely spot beyond the perspective of a tourist. Like most of the volunteers,...

/ Mar 7, 2013

Update from Velondriake following tropical cyclone Haruna

On Friday 22nd February 2013, tropical cyclone Haruna made landfall over the southwest coast of Madagascar as a powerful category 2 storm, with heavy rain and wind speeds of around 150km/h. The village of Andavadoaka and the communities in the...

/ Mar 1, 2013

School on a Saturday?

by Christine Foulkes, BV volunteer, Madagascar The walk to school was interesting. We negotiated the daily route leading down to the boats in  the bay. Then we turned into the narrow passage way at the edge of the village, through...

/ Feb 28, 2013