Baseline survey of transplantation site in July 2015- Dr Phanor Montoya-Maya and Reef Rescuers trainee Tess Moriarty

On Friday 23rd October I was making the last arrangements for a conference trip to South Africa. At 8.00 pm, I was finalising my presentations for the 9th WIOMSA symposium. As the Technical & Scientific Officer of Nature Seychelles Reef Rescuers Project, the largest coral reef restoration project of its kind attempted thus far in the world, I was given the task to share the results of our project with scientists, managers and other marine stakeholders from the Western Indian Ocean.

A report from former Nature Seychelles’ Chief Warden

I am passionate about the Ocean and the Marine Environment but what gives me a buzz is working with dedicated people, creating and grabbing opportunity and watching these individuals grow in confidence and knowledge. Sometimes it is difficult as passion alone is not enough to further a career, but it is a good indicator that you are hungry and willing to go that extra mile to succeed in a cause or career you believe and see a future in.

Because of this songbird, a whole island was rehabilitated

Once you could barely hear the chirping of this songbird with its only 25 individuals left in a mangrove swamp on a small island in Seychelles, but now the singing is louder with a symphony that comprises over 3000 birds. The population of the Seychelles warbler (Acrocephalus sechellensis), which once had the dubious distinction of being one of the rarest birds in the world, is now 115 times what it was over three decades ago with a population spread over 5 islands. Intensive conservation efforts have ensured this endemic bird did not vanish completely.

Nature Seychelles’ Eric Blais recently returned from the 6th session of the CSO/Private sector forum on sustainable Tuna Fisheries management in the South West Indian Ocean held in Mombasa, Kenya. The meeting was hosted by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the Tuna Fisheries Alliance of Kenya (TuFAK). Such meetings have been held annually since 2010. This is the third such meeting attended by a Nature Seychelles representative.