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After ten years of developing a model for community-based sea cucumber aquaculture with coastal fishing communities, Blue Ventures shared its knowledge outside of Madagascar for the first time at a learning exchange in Unguja, Zanzibar. At the request of FAO Tanzania, four members of Blue Ventures’ aquaculture team travelled to Unguja in early February to ...

Blue Ventures' 2017-2018 Annual Report reviews the last financial year (July 2017 – June 2018), including updates on each of our programmes, our partner support work, our 2020 mission, our financial statements and an independent auditor’s report. Download our 2017-2018 Annual Report "Over the last year the world has witnessed a welcome increase in global awareness ...

A new strategy, launched on 21 February 2019 in Belize City, describes how to design and implement an integrated approach to lionfish management. Drawing on almost a decade of research into the effects of the lionfish invasion and the efficacy of different methods of control, this strategy is designed to help governments, conservation groups and ...

Fishers, seafood buyers, conservationists, researchers and policy makers gathered in Toliara to launch a Fishery Improvement Project (FIP) that sets out an ambitious vision for improving the sustainability of one of Madagascar’s largest small-scale fisheries.  Octopus is the most economically important export fishery to coastal communities of southwest Madagascar, and forms the backbone of the ...

Blue Ventures has released a new Explore Photo Story with photos and text from Timor-Leste volunteer Anne-Lise Blanchet. Anne-Lise tells the story of her marine conservation expedition experience, illustrated by stunning photos of the cetaceans, scenery, coral and culture that can be found on Atauro island. Discover a remote corner of the coral training in Exploring ...

In 2018 we’ve witnessed more than ever the potential of partnerships, networks and learning exchanges for building relationships and inspiring locally-led marine protection, so we’ve pulled together some highlights. 2018 – Building relationships for lasting change The accomplishments of this remarkable year were only possible thanks to the support of our friends, partners and thousands of individuals ...

Blue Ventures celebrated its 15 year anniversary this year. Over this time, we have grown from a handful of scientists working with one coastal community in Madagascar, to a flourishing team working across nine countries and impacting the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. Read on for the 15 biggest moments in our journey ...

On World Fisheries Day, a new best practice guide has been launched to help coastal communities reverse the accelerating loss of fish stocks in the tropics. A collaboration between the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Blue Ventures Conservation and the research initiative FLExCELL, a guide for local fishing communities in the tropics has ...

New research published in the journal Marine Policy demonstrates the promise of smartphones as a useful tool for small-scale fisheries data collection in low-income countries. Describing the results of a project conducted by Blue Ventures between 2013 and 2016 in southwest Madagascar, the study shows the potential for smartphones and the Open Data Kit (ODK) ...

In January 2018 the Tampolove community began stocking their redesigned aquaculture pens with sea cucumber juveniles as part of an innovative livelihoods project within the Velondriake locally managed marine area (LMMA) in southwest Madagascar. Since then, the community has been stocking new juveniles every month, and on 11 November enough sea cucumbers had reached an ...