Category: Rebuilding Fisheries
We’re supporting coastal communities to manage their fisheries, establishing periodic reserves and adding value to seafood supply chains.
Celebrating World Fisheries Day in Comoros
This World Fisheries day, we are celebrating a new initiative for marine conservation and fishery management in the Comoros.
New partnership brings vital health services to isolated fishing settlements in the Barren Isles archipelago
Blue Ventures links up with JSI/MAHEFA to provide family planning options and basic healthcare to remote communities in the Indian Ocean’s largest locally managed marine area.
Condoms, crabs and cottonii seaweed: progress update from Belo sur Mer
From humble beginnings over five years ago, locally led mangrove fishery management initiatives are now flourishing in Belo sur Mer and surrounding villages, alongside community-based health promotion and alternative coastal livelihoods in the form of aquaculture.
Kola tea, crabs and key informants
by Charlie Gough, Monitoring and Evaluation Coordinator, UK I drink tea in the afternoon, primarily because I am very ‘English’, but also because coffee seems to have a strange effect on me past midday and I start getting the jitters!...
New shark bytes in Belo sur Mer
One week after never having used a smart phone before, Farakely had managed to complete forms on his own and had data that was ready to send!
Open source conservation
Blue Ventures' Al Harris writes his thoughts on the future of conservation from the front line of our work in Madagascar.
A little step for me…. One giant leap for octopus fisheries management
Not only was it my first time in the “Old Town”, the beautiful heart of Zanzibar’s Stone Town, where the labyrinth of alleyways transport you to another time, and the historical monuments and museums bear witness to the cultural and artistic...
Uncovering the hidden power of Population-Health-Environment programmes
Have you ever wondered how offering family planning to communities in Madagascar might be affecting the size of fish in the Mozambique Channel? Or how working with octopus gleaners may be impacting women’s use of contraception? Or how seaweed farming...
Mandeha magnarato: a weekend fishing in Nosy Marify, Barren Isles
by Cecile Fattebert, Barren Isles Conservation Officer, Madagascar This summer I set foot in Madagascar for the first time in order to work with Blue Ventures, where we’re moving towards creating Madagascar’s largest protected area and the Indian Ocean’s largest community-run marine...
Octopus opening day: ten years on
by Olivia Kemp, Fisheries Programme Manager, Madagascar In August this year, coastal communities in the southwest region of Madagascar celebrated their 10th periodic octopus fishery closure season. Since 2004, villages along this coastline have been annually closing off parts of their fishing sites,...
Eco-labels and sustainability management in the Island of the Gods
By Olivia Kemp, Sustainable Fisheries Programme Manager, Madagascar Earlier this year I travelled to the Centre of the Universe. Or the island of Bali, Indonesia, as it is also known. The Balinese, who have a deeply rich culture, believe that...
A victory for PHE: Blue Ventures wins the 2014 St Andrews Prize for the Environment
Against the elegant backdrop of the University of St Andrews, I spent an inspiring, exhausting, and at times terrifying three days, competing against two other finalists for the 2014 St Andrews Prize for the Environment.
Talking ‘pweza’ (octopus) on Pemba Island, Zanzibar
By Brian Jones, Conservation Coordinator, Toliara, Madagascar (Photos by Brian Jones and Jo Hudson) As far as reccie trips go, there are worse places to be sent than Pemba Island, Zanzibar. Though the coast of southwest Madagascar holds a special place in...
On the road: tales from your semi-nomadic Conservation Coordinator
By Brian Jones, Conservation Coordinator, Toliara, Madagascar (All photos courtesy of Brian Jones) After almost six years of living in remote villages throughout Madagascar, the modern amenities of Toliara, like hot showers and wifi, were a welcome relief when I...
Women octopus gleaners and loan sharks in Mozambique
The second update from my time in northern Mozambique, advising local NGO AMA and their Edinburgh-based partner Bioclimate on community-led octopus fishery management… Walking around the small and quiet village of Quiwia with a group of fisherwomen, we see racks of drying octopus lying in...