My name is Vanessa and I am a student at the Seychelles Maritime Academy formerly known as Maritime Training Centre. I have been studying Fisheries Biology this past year at SMA and I will be spending four exciting weeks as part of a work attachment with MCSS/CICP. In the past I have been involved in some marine related activities before attending SMA such as in 2012 I participated in the Academy by the sea accredited by MCSS, The Subios festival as well as the Sea Turtle Festival. Since starting SMA i have gained knowledge and skills in both theory and practice. The classes are direct but its the attachment that makes the huge difference. My first attachment was with the Seychelles Fishing Authority in the enforcement field where we would patrol, monitor and investigate both foreign and local vessels; it was thrilling. In November last year I was with GVI with my collegue Oneal Tamboo for a month on Curieuse mostly focusing on sea turtle monitoring everyday on the different beaches, and twice a week we had juvenile sicklefin shark tagging either early morning or dusk depending on the tide and the weather. This was a month of communal living with different nationalities aging from 18 to 40 so you can imagine the challenges but it was a memorable end of year experience. Not to forget the end of week barbecues every Friday night. Curieuse was an enchanting paradise. At the start of this year i was re located for attachment and this time in the hands of the Indian Ocean Tuna laboratories for four long weeks. Not being able to participate in many activities because this was no game but a serious organization with an incredible and reputable name being the largest tuna factory in the southern hemisphere. They have high standards to comply with but on the bright side I met many new people from different countries. The attachment was extended and I decided it was time to move forward and find new experiences and I remembered I had applied to work at another organisation the year before. I have been with Socomep ever since but only during the weekends I attend school during the week. The work there is quite simple, to tally and monitor the unloading of tuna from tuna vessels. The most exciting part is that I work with a difficult but underestimated work force. I have met many people from different organisations and i have worked with Korean, French and Spanish vessels! This field is so vast with many ripe opportunities which is just waiting to be filled. It is a really vigorous field to be related to especially for a girl. Unfortunately this is my last attachment and I am spending four weeks here with the MCSS crew on Cerf Island. It is quite a sight for sore eyes. MCSS is one of the many NGO in Seychelles which contributes to the restoration and conservation of marine life in our small island state. The marine life here is slowly flourishing despite the turn of events in the past such as the coral bleaching and the tsunami that destroyed many features in our coral reefs. MCSS is putting a reasonable amount of time and effort as they focus on the reefs around Cerf Island. So far I have been learning some different coral species found in the snorkeling areas on Cerf Island as there are three main sites where we take clients on a daily basis. I have also been taught the names of the different butterfly fish and Angel fish found in the coral reefs. Slowly but surely I will master these facts. This may seem the end for attachment but it is only the beginning for a better future for our diverse ocean. At the end of my month here it will be great to remember the fun facts that i am learning and to maybe one day put it in practice and work with MCSS or any other NGO for that matter. To sum up I have gained knowledge and skills in different fields and maybe after school conservation may or may not be the direct approach for me to start working with but for sure a university degree does not sound that bad if I want to move forward in this field. Knowledge is power. To the young generation growing it is important for you to think about our ocean though we pollute the environment daily it is not right instead of pointing fingers to who started these vile rituals to destroy our oceans for capital lets find sustainable ways to protect our oceans for the future.
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Guess who’s back?!
After my return in La Réunion for my Master’s certification and my trip to Madagascar, I have decided to come back in order to work alongside the MCSS and CICP crew! It’s really great that I am able to help and be involved again in the work conducted here. It will also enable me to gain even more professional experience and further my knowledge on tropical marine ecosystems and especially coral reefs. Carla and I looked after CICP during Savi’s absence and I’m really happy to work with her, as I’m sure the next weeks will work quite well! And the best thing is she can teach me the Créole Seselwa hehe ! I got my bearings again very quick! Savi introduced me to two new tasks of CICP which I’m really excited about! Their new coral monitoring enables to study the recovery capability of some colonies by taking a picture of them once a week, and their turtle identification project which intends to build a catalogue of all the turtles encountered on the reefs of St Anne Marine Park and further follow the population. Remember that bleaching event that happened the last few months? The water temperature reached 32° in April!! The damages were very severe on the reef itself and on our nurseries, especially on the branching colonies of Acropora. Now, only a few fragments of Stylophora are remaining alive on our nurseries, as soon as possible we will transplant them on an artificial reef made of Rebar! If you can’t tell, I can’t wait!! The bleaching events show the vulnerability of coral reefs and the limit of such actions of active restoration. Even if our means of action are small, we can’t relinquish to do nothing to help our reef to cope with their changing and challenging environment. Chloe WOW! Time flies! So it’s been 3 months since I’ve been working with MCSS/CICP and so far I’m loving it. I get to learn different facts about turtles, fishes and even corals every day. Margaux left on the 2nd of September and since then I’ve been missing her a lot. But now I have a new friend to work with her name is Chloe and she’s really nice. We’ve been doing some coral monitoring and also taking the clients out to snorkeling over at the habitation reef and Fairy tern. We tried doing the coral monitoring at Cerf’s reef but the visibility wasn’t so great so we haven't been able to survey that reef as it depends on the wind direction and if weather conditions allow. We managed to do the ones at Habitation and Fairy Tern. A few weeks ago we brought some clients to snorkel at Sainte Anne’s marine park which was really exciting and fun. We also saw a Hawksbill turtle which we took pictures of to check if it’s a new turtle or a re-sighting using the I3S program. We also check if the turtle has any scars and marks on it. Apart from snorkeling with clients, we make time to coral monitoring along the Habitation, Fairy tern, and Cerf’s reef every week. We do that so we could tell which corals are recovering from the bleaching event and which are dying. So far most of our Acroporas are dead which is a shame, but some corals like Physogyra are recovering from the bleaching event which is awesome. Today is the 10th of October and there’s a new girl in the aquarium. Here name is Vanessa and she’s from SMA school. Chloe and I brought her out snorkeling and we showed her different life forms of coral and different fish. We also showed her the nurseries in the water which she watched us clean it with a sponge and toothbrush. We also got lucky and saw 3 Eagle rays and 2 baby lemon shark which was really exciting. So I’m looking forward to see more and meet new volunteers :) "It’s been over month since I’ve volunteered with CICP and its been one of the best experiences I’ve had so far! We’ve been monitoring the corals, hiking, beach cleaning and snorkelling. I’ve learned quite a lot about coral life forms and the scientific names of different corals and I’ve been able to identify some of them while snorkeling together with Margaux. I’ve also been learning about different fish, and I’ve encountered quite a few that I’ve been able to identify them very easily.
Just last week, we came across a Hawksbill turtle which was resting on the corals while having a little snack. We took loads of pictures of it so we could then come back to the office and observe the picture of the turtle by looking at its different scute (scales on the face) patterns and identify it through the use of Interactive Individual Identification System (I3S). This program allows us to identify each encountered turtle and allow for a turtle adoption program as we track their moves and behaviours around our reefs. I also came across a baby eagle ray which was swimming past me very fast but I managed to get a good look at it and it was very beautiful. I’ve also seen three feather tailed rays which camouflaged very well as they were about the same colour as the sand but as we got closer they got up and left as we snapped a few pictures of it. That week we also had clients who were very interested in the sea and really enjoyed and appreciated our company while snorkelling as we showed them some of our beautiful corals such as Pocilliopora, Platygyra, Acropora and much more. After the snorkel the clients came to thank us and started sharing stories about their underwater experiences which was very interesting to hear as I always love talking about the ocean and sharing my love for it with other people; it’s a great satisfaction to know that other people share the same love for it as I do. I’ve also come across quite a few other animals such as squid, barracuda, which didn’t look very friendly, and even a lion fish which was very beautiful, but of course I couldn’t go very close to it. On some days the weather here on Cerf wasn’t very good, but we don’t let that stop us! Just the other day we were able to finish the hike together with clients who were really determined and quite satisfied by the mesmerising view at the viewpoint staring at the beautiful islands such as Moyenne and Sainte Anne and the clients really enjoyed it! I am very eager to keep coming to Cerf and to learn so much more about the corals and fish!" So, time flies! It’s been a month since i started working here and it’s probably one of the best experiences ever. I enjoy being here with Margaux and also with the corals and fishes. These past few weeks we’ve been doing a lot of coral monitoring and I’m also working on the coral’s and fish’s names fishes. We also have clients coming in for snorkelling and hiking which is interesting and fun. Sometimes when we have clients, Margaux does the coral monitoring while I show the clients different life forms of corals.
There was one day we went out to monitor the corals and saw a hawksbill turtle! We took a lot of pictures so we could check later on that week if it’s a new turtle or a turtle that’s been around for a while using this amazing program called Interactive Individual Identification System (I3S). We had to make sure we took clear identification shots so we can compare this turtle’s scute pattern to ones already in our database. Normally on a busy day we can have clients going snorkeling with us in the morning and in the afternoon we can bring them up to the hiking trail. Last time we brought a couple up at the hiking trail to visit the cemetery and the view point with a nice rest stop view at the beach. I’m sure they loved it as they even opened up a coconut to drink the water and eat the coconut inside. And speaking of coconuts, we encountered a fun coconut crab! Later on that week we had a group of clients which wanted to do some snorkelling around Sainte Anne and Moyenne islands. There was a group of 10 and we made sure that they had the time of their lives snorkelling as we explained the reef structure, pointed out different species of reef life and reminded the group of safe snorkel practices. It really made my day snorkeling somewhere different. We saw a small moray eel which was exciting and different types of reef fish. Once we had a client that didn’t know how to swim so we taught him how to in the pool first then we moved in the sea so we could bring him out for snorkelling. Even if that day the visibility wasn’t good, he did appreciate our swimming lesson. We did manage to spot a lionfish and remove floating plastic bags from the sea. Later on that day we went on the hiking trail to clear the path way to ensure easy passage. So far I’m enjoying myself here and everyday we’ve been helping and watching the corals. Sadly, there was one Favia coral colony which died from the Black Band disease, a bacterium which causes an oxygen poor environment and smothers the coral. But luckily there are other beautiful colonies of this coral around. Its important to never touch the corals so we don’t spread these diseases to healthy colonies. Im enjoying seeing the reef life (with even a few beautiful jellyfish) and I look forward to learning more! ;) Coucou tous le monde ! Déjà 8 semaines dans cette aventure seychelloise, les jours passent à vive allure ! Des rencontres extraordinaires m'ont permis d'apprendre beaucoup sur les habitudes et la culture ici bas. Grâce aux mésaventures de Chloé j'ai pu mettre en pratique mais faculté de secouriste, dans son combat de pied avec un clou rouillé, elle a perdu la bataille. Nous avons bien ris lorsque je l'ai porté sur mon dos de l'Habitation à Fairy tern. Rien de grave c'est l'essentiel ! Tout les matins sont magiques en snorkeling, les client sont intéressante et intéressés par tout ce qui les entourent. C'est un plaisir de leur faire partager des connaissances et mon amour inconditionnel pour l'océan, chaque jour est un nouveau trésor. Sur l'île la vie est calme et le monde sauvage des insectes nous rattrapes par moment, mais elle reste extraordinaire et son charme me trouble a chacun de mes réveils. Le staff de cerf resort n'est pas toujours toujours des plus souriant mais une fois intégrée, ils deviennent tous attentionnés et chaleureux. Devendra m'a fait découvrir les saveurs culinaires du Népal autour d'un dîner parfait, Narris m'a conduit au abord de Moyenne Island pour y apprendre d'avantage sur le parc marin. En vivant ici, j'ai aussi la chance d'apprendre bien plus sur la vie animal et végétale que je l'aurais espéré. Les noix de coco n'ont plus de secret pour moi, toute comme l'utilisation du matchiki pour les ouvrir. Tout les fruits sont attractifs et d'une fraîcheur inégalée. Mahe aussi m'a réservée bien des surprises, j'ai rencontré le responsable du Galatea, le bateau de croisière le plus prestigieux de l'île grâce à qui j'ai pu commencer mon Advance PADI au sein de Blue Sea Diver. Je croise les doigts à présent pour avoir le temps de le finir et l'obtenir bien évidemment. Je suis impatiente de voir enfin les rockpool de Mahe et faire ces Hiking trail qui me donnerons une vue de carte postale dans les hauteurs de l'île. A présent, je vous laisse pour célébrer mon anniversaire autour d'un BBQ sur la plage en compagnie de mes amis Today, meet our second volunteer student who just finished at ISS and was looking for a productive way to spend her time in academia limbo.
"Hi name is Carla Monthy. I’m 17 years old and I went to the international school of Seychelles on Mahe. While waiting for my results I decided to work with Marine Conservation Society Seychelles and Cerf Island Conservation Program because I’m interested with the marine life and it would also keep me busy. Working with MCSS gives me more ideas of what I really want to do in the future. So far my biggest dream is to become a marine biologist. I enjoy working in the sea and take part in all sorts of water sports such as jet ski, surfing etc.. Since I’ve been volunteering here on Cerf everyday we’ve been snorkeling and monitoring the corals which is awesome and exciting! I saw different forms of corals, and also I’ve learned different facts about some species of corals and fishes in our sea. Since the weather has changed into the SE monsoon, cooler waters will be the first major step into returning those bleached corals back to colourful, healthy colonies. I’ve enjoyed these past couple of weeks with MCSS/CICP. On my first day, I was really nervous to start working with MCSS. Im glad I had Sara and Margaux by my side. First thing we did was to check the current direction on a kayak with a plastic bag, buoy, and washed up dead coral to sink the plastic bag so it can move along with the current. Sara recorded the time and she used a GPS to see how far the buoy drifted by marking drop and pickup points of these “drifts drogues”. The next day Sara and I went snorkeling at L’Habitation and It was really interesting to see the beautiful corals. We’ve been snorkeling and hiking with clients, as we explain and tell them some interesting facts about the reef life. And also we’ve been doing beach cleaning every day before lunch. During my snorkeling on Cerf Island with Margaux I’ve seen many different species of reef life such as puffer fish, rays, barracuda, lion fish, moray eel and also a few turtles! So far I'm enjoying my time working with MCSS." We enjoy having you here with us and are looking forward to the upcoming months. Meet another Chloe! A student at the International School Seychelles who has decided to come volunteer her time with us whilst the school holidays pass.
"Hello, my name is Chloe. I’m 14 years old and I go to International School Seychelles. My dream is to become a Marine Biologist, as I really enjoy the ocean and it’s marine life together with ocean sports such as surfing, skiing etc... I have always had an insane amount of love for the ocean and I would do the impossible just to try and help it in the smallest way possible! I am here with MCSS/CICP because I felt like it would be a great experience and could help me boost my knowledge of the ocean such as corals, sea animals and more. I knew I would really enjoy it because there is nothing I love more than a good snorkel in the beautiful ocean and to admire it beauties. I am very eager to keep learning new things every day, as it is something that I really enjoy doing and have a passion for. I heard about MCSS with a close friend of mine that was volunteering with MCSS; she explained to me how it was great and I would get to learn, snorkel and how I’d really enjoy it. I went straight home and told my parents and they immediately sent MCSS an email asking if I could join just until school would start again. In my first week here, I’ve learned about the different life forms of corals, I’ve helped create signs to prevent littering, I’ve gone snorkelling with Margeaux by my side and saw some insanely beautiful corals and fish, and also learned about the reef rehabilitation efforts that are in place including beach cleaning. We’ve gone on the local hike on Tuesday just until the viewpoint as we encountered some spiders, which was not very pleasant, tripped over a few rocks and saw some interesting flowers. We went to the view point and saw a mesmerising view that was just simply beautiful! We stood there looking over at Saint Anne and Moyenne Island admiring their beauty with the blue ocean surrounding it. I also started learning about the coral families, their appearances and nicknames so I can identify them underwater! It was very interesting and cleared up some of my curiosity about the corals. " Nice to have you hear Chloe. We look forward to teaching you as much as we can in our time together and getting you very familiar with our reefs here at Cerf. "Hi all, I am writing as my adventure here comes to its end after almost 3 months. I’ve had a marvelous time in these amazing islands both during work and days off. Seychelles is a beautiful country with breath-taking beaches and landscapes. During my stay I had time for a short trip to Praslin and La Digue. Definitely worth the visit to the Vallé de Mai UNESCO site and Anse Lazio in Praslin and so much fun cycling around La Digue, exploring its stunning white sand beaches decorated by huge granitic boulders. Lots of fun also on Mahe, where you can jump in waterfalls/pools, snorkel, hike and surf at the southern beaches. It was a great experience working for the CICP on Cerf Island. Here I had the opportunity to spend most of my time snorkeling on our reefs, carrying out monitoring, doing some beach cleaning or taking clients for some fun time in the water. Since June I have been responsible of a new task we decided to introduce here at CICP. I’ve been monitoring 47 coral colonies among our three snorkeling trails to assess their resilience to the latest bleaching event that struck. So far, around 30% of the colonies have been showing signs of recovery, about 10% died while the rest is at the same state as at the beginning of the monitoring. We also found two Favia colonies affected by Black Band Disease of which I have been recording the progression. The speed at which the disease is growing is surprisingly fast with an average 5 cm increment in diameter per week. Warmer waters affect basic physiological responses corals, making them weaker and more susceptible to infections. Indeed, the outbreak of some coral diseases, such as the black band,can be associated with increased seawater temperature.Therefore, it’s really important to keep track of the status of the corals to understand the response of the reef to the pressures that can impact on it. My work here allowed me to expand my expertise in tropical marine ecology, especially in Indo-Pacific fish, coral and invertebrate identification, gaining more competence in reef surveys, conservation and restoration techniques. Furthermore the opportunity to interact with clients and to supervise other volunteers enhanced my interpersonal and public relation skills. Hoping that my presence here left a positive footprint, I hand over my work to Margaux as it is time for me to move to my next adventure in Saudi Arabia!" You left many footprints here Sara and we appreciate all of your hard work. Thank you for your time and best of luck in Saudi! Bonjour, je suis Margaux, étudiante en DEUST technicien de la mer et du littoral en France à Calais.
Voilà une semaine déjà que je participe au programme de conservation marine des Seychelles. Mon arrivée sur l'archipel fût formidable après 13h passés en avion et autant dans les transites, je fût bien accueillie par des membres de MCSS qui me conduisirent jusqu'au bateau pour Cerf Island où je rencontrai Savi et Sara. Cette île devenait alors ma résidence principale pour les 3 prochains mois. Le cadre est fascinant et le staff de Cerf Resort est souriant et accueillant, tout est fait pour se sentir bien et en sécurité. Tout commençait avec Sara, ma coéquipière, avec qui je partage une chambre aménagée. Dés le premiers jour, nous nous armons de nos palmes, masque et tuba pour aller découvrir les trois sites de snorkel présent autour de l'île; Cerf Island Resort, Fairy Tern et l'Habitation. Première mise à l'eau et je rencontrai déjà un grande partie des individus du récif. Notre mission porte principalement sur les coraux, de taille, de forme et de couleur très varié. Nous nous devons de les protéger du phénomène de « bleaching » qui cause de gros dommage sur les récifs. Le deuxième jour nous nous sommes munis du matériel de plongée pour aller nettoyer et contrôler l'état de la nurseries de coraux. Je vis pour la première fois un site de coralliculture in-situ et ce fut une sortie très agréable et enrichissante en compagnie de Sara. Un suivis des coraux dans le temps est effectué à l'aide de photographie quotidienne des colonies cibles. Plus tard dans la semaine, j'ai effectué une sortie avec des visiteurs en vue de leur faire découvrir le récif et les individus qui s'y trouvent. Le récif est un lieu de vie et de reproduction pour de nombreuses espèces telle que les raies, les poissons ou encore les échinodermes et leur présence est indispensable au bon fonctionnement du récif, c'est pourquoi nous effectuons aussi de la sensibilisation au près des visiteurs afin qu'il puissent profiter de leur sortie en toute sécurité et minimiser au maximum les impacts négatifs sur l'environnement. En ce qui concerne la vie quotidienne sur Cerf Island, le confort est de mise avec des repas équilibrés riche en saveur et des nuits très calmes . Pour finir cette semaine en beauté, c'est en direction de Mahe que je me dirige pour passer le week-end et découvrir encore d'avantage sur les Seychelles. |
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August 2018
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