Category: Uncategorised

Update from Ellie: Hot Hot Hot!

Sunday 1st December 2007 Tulear – Chez Lala 13:42 (UK) / 16:42 (Madagascar)   Oh my goodness it is hot.  Really hot.  Tulear may be only 500km south of Tana, but it is also at sea level and thus it...

/ Dec 6, 2007

Update from Ellie: Tasks in Tana

Friday 30th November 15:15 (UK) / 18:15 (Madagascar)   A day of driving all over Tana centre on errands; trying to get the freight released from customs has left me feeling rather tired, smelly, and dirty.  As a highly active...

/ Dec 6, 2007

Update from Ellie: My Arrival in Madagascar

Thursday 28th November 17:02 (UK) / 20:02 (Madagascar) I always swore to myself that I would never write a blog; it was too trendy, and perhaps reveals a little too much about a person, but today I have reassessed my...

/ Dec 4, 2007

Samosas by the sea by BV volunteers Alana & Rebecca

“Ah, farine” said the woman at the supermarket, scooping the half-kilo of flour Alana asked for into a plastic bag. We were picking up ingredients for our beloved fish samosas, the best street treats in town, and now we needed...

/ Nov 30, 2007

Staff Blog by Fran Humber (Marine and Fisheries Scientist)

Pirogues are the best way of travelling short distances out here and it was time to make the 40km trip north to Morombe. Our purpose: to collect all the shark and turtle fisheries monitoring data in each of the villages...

/ Nov 30, 2007

Volunteer blog by Isabel Butcher

I never understood how people on Big Brother, Ship Wrecked etc could spend so much time doing so little. Just sitting around babbling inanely to each other (the only apparent explanation being the evident lack of brain cells between them)....

/ Nov 15, 2007

Research trip to Belavenoke by BV Volunteer Kristy Benz

We meet outside the huts, ready to go. Our valuables (cameras, toilet paper and biscuits) are in dry bags, the rest of our supplies for the next three days are slung over our shoulders in backpacks. We’re off to Belavenoke...

/ Nov 7, 2007

Time for afterthought by Ida Vincent

Leaving Andavadoaka is hard for anyone who visits this unspoilt area of Africa. No matter how long you stay – 3 weeks, 6 weeks or indeed 9 months – it never feels enough. Coming back to the real world is...

/ Nov 2, 2007

Seagrass Mapping by Field Scientist Tristan Brown

After a recent visit from an American research company, SeagrassNet, Blue Ventures have gone on a seagrass mapping mission. So far in expedition 33, with the help of some very keen volunteers, we have managed to find and map 3...

/ Nov 1, 2007

CARPE DIEM by Ben Fry

After one of the best sleeps I’ve ever had, in a proper bed, and for more than four hours, I awoke to an absolutely pristine environment. Cameras out (and unlikely to be put away anytime soon) we all started taking...

/ Nov 1, 2007

BBC Photo Journal

Andavadoaka, the location of Blue Ventures’ conservation research site, is featured in a new photo journal on the BBC website about shark fishing in Madagascar. The article quotes Blue Ventures’ scientist Volanirina Ramahery about the threats shark fishing poses to...

/ Nov 1, 2007

WTM’s World Responsible Tourism Day

WTM’s World Responsible Tourism Day is taking place on 14 November 2007. The day is dedicated to raising awareness of the significance of minimising negative impacts of tourism and to encourage the protection of tourism destinations and host cultures. The...

/ Oct 26, 2007

Primates under threat of extinction

IUCN and the International Primatological Society have recently released a report in collaboration with Conservation International, highlighting the need for further conservation efforts of endangered primates. The report states that 29% of all the worlds primates are on the verge...

/ Oct 26, 2007

Volunteer Blog by Kristy Benz

We are now three weeks into expedition 33, and I think it would be safe to say that the time has been largely devoted to one thing: fish. And I don’t mean eating fish. So much of our work on...

/ Oct 24, 2007

Blog by Blue Ventures Expedition Manager Ruth Rosselson

I’ve finally done my first science dive after taking up the post of expedition manager at the beginning of October, and it was fantastic! 🙂 The boat (along with Marcellin, the boat driver) took me, two staff members and four...

/ Oct 24, 2007