Le Meridien Fisherman's Cove Project

  Michelle with a welcoming smile at the kiosk After all the hard work for setting up the trail, it was finally officially opened on Monday the 20 th of June. That day it was also the first time me as a guide went with the first two guest and post the first postcard in the underwater postbox. The Info board of the trail After that special ceremony we got settled in at the kiosk where our weekly duties includes assisting with handing out gears to guest as well as explaining to them the main purpose of the trail, which so far we have good feedbacks from all the guest who visits the trail or who is told about the trail. Mask on display Our main responsibility is to guide clients from the hotel who wants to snorkel the trail with our assistance. Therefore we also provide this service to the guest who is not fully confident with snorkeling but wants to have the experience. Small training is given in the pool to make them comfortable with the s

Block deployment The blocks the lift bag with blocks at the side of the boat This week we successfully deployed the blocks in their appropriate location. Last week we had a Gps problem and the blocks were put in manually. After the locations was entered on Google maps it was far from where it was supposed to be  so this week’s mission was to relocate them to the original positions. After some hard work we deployed the six blocks for the fishermen’s cove trail. Sheril and Lisanne getting ready to go below! The team was really determined to get it done properly and quickly so the job was separated by the four team members. We had Savy as the Gps navigator, leading us to the locations of where the blocks were and then moving them to the given locations. We had Marie as the snorkeler, once we have found the position she had to go in and fine a nice sandy patch to deploy the blocks as well as dropping a surface marker buoy so that the boat can approach the

Marie navigating, Lisanne worried Some wetland fun!! This week new excitement is the wetland mapping!! The wetland at H hotel where the terrapin project is being held is now being mapped for the size and also the depth is being checked. Michel,Lisanne and Marie getting ready The small assignment started last week but due to bad weather it delayed the progress. During this week the two interns Marie and Lisanne has been making this a priority to get it done by the end of this week. Doing the depth measurement a small boat situated at the hotel is used to go around the wetland, instead of a paddle the boat is navigated by a long net which makes it interesting and a fun way to get around. heading out To measure the size or the outline of the wetland the process involves going around every five meters and a GPS point is taken along the edge and for the depth a measuring tape with a weight at the end is dropped then the depth is rec

Practice makes perfect! This week the research team of M.C.S.S carried out the reef impact assessment. I sheril, Lisanne and Marie went out on a cloudy day to practice the survey. The trial was not very successful due to bad weather conditions that resulted in bad water visibility as well at lots of wind making it difficult to swim along the transect. Despite the fact that we had those challenges were still able to practice the method. We started out in five meters but due to visibility we proceeded to the two meters depth. The measuring tape was rolled out for twenty meters by Lisanne and them I and Marie followed behind.  Marie was doing the reef impact assessment and I was doing the substrate assessment. After being satisfied with the data recorded we swam to the shore.

Rain brings studying and sun means snorkel........ Lisanne, Sheril and Marie practicing coral ID Last week we stayed in the office a lot due to the bad weather caused by a big cyclone around Madagascar. Ideal weather to stay inside and study the most common fishes and corals, as well as developing a reef impact and substrate data collection sheet. This to assess the bleaching rate and the diversity of corals on the reef of Fishermen’s Cove. The monitoring is going to start in two weeks and that is to give us time to learn more about the corals for when we start the transects. In the process we have started to do coral ID to better identify them once we start the monitoring. fluorescent coral  On Friday the sun came back again, so we decided to test our coral and fish knowledge in the field during a snorkeling trip at Sunset Beach. Butterflyfish, Batfish, Moorish Idol and brain coral, we recognized a lot already! The water was surprisingly warm and the corals lo

Introducing Lisanne and Marie! They will do their internship with the MCSS: Marie,Sheril and Lisanne's first day together Hi everyone! Let’s introduce myself first. My name is Lisanne and I’m from The Netherlands. I’m 24 years old and I got my bachelor’s degree in biology last year. Currently I’m enrolled in a master program called ‘Marine Biodiversity and Conservation’. At the moment I’m studying in a nice city called Ghent, Belgium. But for my internship I wanted to widen my horizon. Yes, we do have a sea with a coastline in Belgium, but it’s maybe a little bit less spectacular than the tropical ocean around the Seychelles. I’m interested in coral reefs, marine mammals, turtles, whales, but basically I have an interest for all fauna you can find in tropical seas.That’s the reason why I came all the way from The Netherlands to stay with the MCSS for the next 6 weeks. The perfect location to do research on the animals and habitats that interest me the most! 

Le Meridien Fishermen’s cove opening My first snorkel at Fishermen's Cove Hi my name is Sheril De Commarmond and I will be mainly working on the snorkeling trail project at Le Meridien, Fishermen’s Cove.  The trail will be approximately 400metres without including the swim out from shore to the trail. The trail project is due to start at the end of April which is very exciting for it is not a common practice here on Mahe. The trail will be opened three times a week with the Fishermen’s Cove guests. The trail has five points containing different specific marine organisms. In addition there will be a snorkel trail marine life slate provided to help better identify the different species spotted on the trail and increase guests awareness and enthusiasm for the local marine life. The slate will also contain a map of the area, giving a general idea of the snorkel trail of the two entries and exits for low and high tide. An informative kiosk will be situated inside the ho