Tag: Marine Conservation
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Five sites designated as seasonal protected areas
The Seychelles Cabinet of Ministers has approved the designation of five sites in the south of Mahe as seasonal protected areas under the Nature Reserves and Conservancy Act (2022). These five sites include Anse Intendance, Anse Cachee, Anse Corail, Anse Bazarca, Anse Petite Police and Anse Grand Police. According to the government, this decision aims…
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Beyond coral reefs: Tropical marine conservation needs to change as coral reefs decline
There is an urgent need to act on the warnings of a widespread decline in the productivity of coral reef fisheries, and broaden the focus of tropical marine conservation, say a group of experienced marine scientists. “Burying our heads in the sand as fisheries move and their negative impact is concentrated elsewhere can no longer…
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Turtles here, turtles there, turtles everywhere
Having worked with two types of sea turtles, during multiple turtle nesting seasons in 2 different countries I am still sometimes surprised by how different and exciting each day can be when you are around these animals. One of the best things about the Hawksbill turtles that nest in Seychelles is the fact that they…
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Boat-less but not hope-less
Although Nature Seychelles’ underwater coral nursery in the Marine Park by Felicité Island is located close to the shore, bad weather and rough sea conditions can make a shore dive impossible. During rainy days, our Reef Rescuers depend on the boat to complete tasks related to the nursery cleaning, monitoring of the donor site and…
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Spooked by hatchlings
This is my third time on Cousin Island during turtle season. You would think that after spending so much time watching turtles nesting I will have seen most of what there is to see but no, every time I come, there is always something new, something I haven’t witnessed before.
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Turtle trance
This is my first time to Cousin Island as a helper during the hectic turtle season. Although I had no idea what I was walking into, the hawksbill turtles have most definitely exceeded my expectations. During my first month here I had two turtles come on to the beach at the same time time to…
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2016 coral-bleaching event: One year later…
Spreading from the western Pacific, the lethal heat wave associated to the 2015/17 El Niño hit the western Indian Ocean around February 2016. Here in the Seychelles, the water temperature averaged 30°C for four consecutive months, peaking over 31°C on some days!
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Albatross and the rough seas
Nature Seychelles’ Reef Rescuers team was recently invited to collaborate with the Island Resort Six Senses Zil Pasyon and conduct a feasibility assessment. The main objective of this survey was to see if we could implement a Coral Garden Project within the Marine Protected Area (MPA) of Félicité Island.
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What is scarring and sheeting and why is it important in a coral nursery?
Scarring and sheeting of nursery grown corals are among the first steps towards successful rearing. The scaring process – depending on the growth structure and type of coral – can take anywhere from two weeks to a month and a half.
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Bad for your health but great for conservation
In a recently published study by researchers from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama and McGill University, eating sea turtle eggs could be greatly detrimental to human health owing to the high presence of heavy metals in the eggs. Great news for sea turtles and conservationists protecting these species, but not so for the…