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GVI Seychelles
December 2015, Issue 9

Spring 2016, Issue 4

Inside this Issue

Seasons Greetings

WIOMSA

Marine Monitoring

Turtles of Curieuse Island

Cleaning up our backyard

Marine Education Fun Day

GVI Charitable Trust

NSPs

Meanwhile it has been a busy year for the

volunteers who have given up their time

GVI

Scholarship

and money to make a difference. Without

As 2015 draws to a close, we can once

Programme, with 8 candidates having

them none of what we do would be

again look back on a year packed full of

successfully

possible.

achievements. The staff and volunteers on

expeditions.

Seasons Greetings

the

marine

and

island

Seychelles

National

completed

time

on

the

We would like to take this opportunity to

conservation

programmes have continued to conduct

With NOAA having declared 2015 as the

wish everyone a very happy new year and

research and gather important data on

year of a 3rd global coral mass bleaching

look forward to seeing many of you in

Seychelles flora and fauna. This data has

event, we already have one eye on the end

2016!

been presented at conferences in Turkey

of the first quarter of 2016, a time when

and South Africa and used to publish a

the

manuscript on the turtles of Curieuse

experience

Island. The GVI expeditions run alongside

temperatures.

SNPA have featured in a number of news

programmes, broadcasted both locally and
internationally, showcasing the amazing
diversity of wildlife found within the inner
islands.

Furthermore

in

2015

the

Seychelles

inner

elevated

islands

usually

sea

surface

GVI Seychelles would like to thank

everyone who has helped to make this year
such a success, In particular SNPA for their
continued support and guidance.

Charitable Trust raised over SR60,000 for

Thanks also to the GVI Seychelles staff for

the Presidents Village Childrens Home and

their tireless dedication and enthusiasm but

the SSPCA, providing much needed

most importantly thank you to all of the

financial support on the ground.

Lorem Ipsum

The afternoon of the second day was a session dedicated to the 250 or

WIOMSA 2015

so posters on display. Two GVI posters were presented, one on the

Lemon shark research being carried out by GVI Curieuse: Use of the
Curieuse Island, Seychelles, Mangroves as a Nursery Ground for
Sicklefin Lemon Sharks (Negaprion acutidens), and the other
summarising the past ten years of coral reef monitoring by GVI Cap
Ternay: Coral Reef Recovery Along the Northwest Coast of Mah,
Seychelles Following the 1998 Mass Bleaching Event. As with all
projects run by GVI Seychelles, both have been carried out in
collaboration with the Seychelles National Parks Authority (SNPA).
The Lemon shark project begun with funding from the Seychelles

Each year, the Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association

British High Commission, with the initial aim of gathering baseline

(WIOMSA) holds a symposium in one of the countries bordering

data on the previously un-studied population of juveniles, specifically

the Western Indian Ocean. The aim of the association is to

on the size and structure of the population and the growth rates of the

advance regional co-operation in all aspects of coastal and marine

pups. It has been a successful first season with 96 individuals captured

sciences and

sustainable

and tagged with electronic Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) tags,

development in the Western Indian Ocean region, while

and the data collected has shown just how little we knew about the

promoting interdisciplinary and multi-disciplinary approaches.

little sharks. Our estimates of the population size were proved to be a

This year it was the turn of South Africa, with the event being

vast under-estimate, with the mark-recapture calculations showing a

hosted at the Wild Coast Sun Resort, Eastern Cape, just across

maximum population size of over 300 sharks! The growth data also

the river from Port Edward, Kwazulu Natal. The venue was well

highlighted some very interesting trends, and as with many scientific

chosen, with five presenting halls and all required facilities at

studies raised more questions than it answered. There was much

hand. Over 500 delegates attended from locations all around the

interest in the poster and our results from a diverse range of delegates.

management,

and

to

support

world, including several from the Seychelles. The theme of the

symposium was Knowledge improving lives in ocean and

The Cap Ternay coral reef poster was also very well received, and

coastal systems.

with this year being the next major El Nino following the one in 1998,
with widely predicted global mass coral bleaching again, it was a most

The symposium began with some traditional African drum and

appropriate time to present the results of the recovery from the

dance, followed by opening addresses from the WIOMSA

previous bleaching event. The results will now be able to be used as a

president and other key organisers, then it was straight into the

solid baseline to assess the effects of the coming El Nino, and this

scientific presentations. The presentations were grouped into

aroused the interest of quite a number of delegates.

diverse topics ranging from the status of coral reefs to primary

productivity, provision of ecosystem services, elasmobranchs of

The symposium was such a success on many levels. The presentation

the Western Indian Ocean, Marine Protected Areas, fishery

and sharing of so many studies, including our own, greatly advances

resources, and climate change. The final day was dedicated to

understanding of the current science going on in the region, and it was

special sessions covering a number of current issues, including

a great opportunity to meet and talk to a diverse group of people,

coral reefs, reforestation in Africa, African wetlands, and

ranging from other shark and coral reef scientists to geneticists, to

effective conservation communication in the Western Indian

Seychelles NGO representatives, to many ex-GVI volunteers and

Ocean.

National Scholars from all around the world.

In addition to the ongoing marine monitoring programme, 2015

Marine monitoring

has seen GVI & SNPA come together to try and tackle the COTS
outbreak, which has affected large areas of coral reef on the north
coast of Mah Island.
Several removal campaigns took place in the first six months of the
year, targeting Beau Vallon, which had been particularly badly
affected.
In the second half of the year SNPA received a shipment of
injector guns, which they passed on to GVI for use on our
monitoring sites. The applicators use a sodium bisulphate solution
for injecting into the COTS, negating the need to remove and
dispose of the animal. To date GVI Seychelles has injected over

It has been a busy year of marine monitoring for the team at Cap
Ternay. Over the past twelve months we have conducted stationary

100 COTS, focusing on outbreaks within the Marine National

Parks of Port Launay and Baie Ternay.

point counts, diversity belts, line intercept transects and quadrats at

24 sites along the coast of Mah, stretching from Lilot to the north
of Beau Vallon bay down to Isle Therese to the west.
Over the next month the science team will be looking through the
data and compiling a report on the status of the reefs. While the
signs are good with coral cover looking to have increased again on
last year, there is concern that the global coral bleaching event,
which has recently devastated large areas of the pacific will impact
Seychelles reefs early next year. It is therefore more important than
ever that data is collected to help build a picture of the status of the
reefs.

Dark areas of algae within the

Port Launay MNP

Towards the end of October, at a time when we were looking to

complete our monitoring sites while simultaneously dealing with
the COTS outbreaks, the Seychelles inner islands were affected by a
Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB). Reports of fish washing up dead on
beaches had been coming in for the last 24 hours when on October
25th GVI noticed that the water within the Baie Ternay Marine Park
had turned a red/brown colour. Diving was suspended for a few
days while officials sent samples for testing. The algal bloom was
particularly severe within the Port Launay Marine National Park as

A COTS feeds on a Pocillopora coral

well as at Conception island. Following the bloom GVI sent a team

to each of these sites to conduct surveys and the resulting data has
been passed on to SNPA.

Lorem Ipsum

New paper published on the

Cleaning up our backyard

turtles of curieuse island

Curieuse Island is the fifth largest of the inner granitic islands and is
a national park managed by the Seychelles National Parks
Authority. Since 2011 Global Vision International has been
assisting the SNPA with monitoring turtle nesting activity on the
island. The data collected by GVI staff and volunteers is passed on
to SNPA and has helped to gain a better understanding of the role
Curieuse Island plays in providing suitable nesting habitat for
hawksbill turtles. Results have shown the beaches of Curieuse
Island to be important nesting grounds for hawksbill turtles and to
a handful of green turtles.

On the 11th October GVI Seychelles volunteers and staff joined forces
with those from SYAH, Eco-Academia and Global Shapers to clean up
the beaches of Cap Ternay. Our guests arrived at base in the morning,
and after a quick meet-and-greet we divided into two groups, to focus
on the mangrove area within the reserve and around Bay Ternay. We
worked for several hours, collecting all kinds of strange items,
including a toilet seat and a steering wheel! One of the worst areas,
the parking space near the back beach, took a long time to clear up.
We discussed some ideas to help reduce this issue, such as putting up a
sign asking visitors to take their rubbish home with them.

This quarter a new paper was published on the turtles of Curieuse

During the clean, GVI volunteers and our guests were able to mingle

Island. The manuscript entitled Curieuse National Park,

and it was great to speak with local volunteers about the kind of work

Seychelles: Critical Management Needs for Protection of an

they are doing here, and what they consider to be the greatest

Important Nesting Habitat by Burt et al. Published in the October

environmental threats to their security and way of life.

issue of the Marine Turtle Newsletter, the paper uses four years of
GVI & SNPA data to assess hawksbill and green turtle numbers

It was a little upsetting to see all the different kinds of waste, which

using the beaches of Curieuse Island for nesting. The authors go on

had made its way into the marine national park, but it was certainly a

to make a number of recommendations for safeguarding the turtles

good feeling once we'd collected everything we could find and

nesting habitat on the island.

brought it back to base. Looking at our massive haul gave everyone a

real sense of achievement. From there we sorted what we could into

The

paper

is

now

available

to

download

from:

our new recycling centre, and then disposed of the rest as general

http://www.seaturtle.org/mtn/archives/mtn147/mtn147-

rubbish. Overall we estimated we'd removed over 100kgs of rubbish

4.shtml

from the reserve. It was a great day, and we'd like to thank all those
who participated and helped to keep our lovely home clean and
rubbish free. Until next time!!

Marine education fun day

It was then time for the pace to slow slightly as Octopus Dive
Centre took out groups for snorkelling and the other organisations
showed how to recycle plastic bottles to make and paint turtle toys.
All the while, Mr Allen Gervais Comettant from the Ministry of
Environment was busy decorating faces with all manner of marine
art. It was then time for lunch, after which GVI hosted a game for
all the kids in the sea, which showed how sharks can so easily slip
through the water, a prelude to the aquatic activities for the rest of
the afternoon. Octopus Dive ran more snorkelling while SNPA,
GVI and others played with the children on the water slide and had a
game of water polo, a game that was mirrored with much intensity
Each year at Cote DOr on Praslin, the Environment Education

by the remaining adults in a mixed cross-organisation, cross-cultural

Section of the Seychelles Ministry of the Environment, in partnership

challenge match!

with the Seychelles Islands Foundation and Friends of Vallee de Mai,

hosts a Marine Education Fun Day for the local school children, and
this years event was held on Saturday the 21st of November. The
event is intended to encourage local children to become interested in
marine life and teach them of the importance of the marine
environment. Many organisations participated in making it a great day
out for all, including SNPA, Octopus Dive Centre, the National
Sports Council, and of course our dedicated staff and volunteers here
at GVI Curieuse.
Despite competing with the national election for publicity, about 30
children managed to attend, more than enough to keep the adults
busy. The day began with some shark quizzes from GVI, showing the
children some of the adaptations different species have in teeth and tail
shapes. It turned out that one of the children was at least as well
educated in all things shark as anyone from GVI! This was a great
inspiration to the other kids who were all very interested in the topic.
This was then followed by the manic and hilarious turtle nesting game,
where two teams competed to be the quickest to dig a nest on the
beach and lay all their eggs without breaking them. It was a very close
match with both teams putting in an extraordinary level of energy and
finishing within a couple of seconds of each other.

The day was a resounding success, with another group of the

younger generation having a greater awareness of marine
conservation, while at the same time having a great fun day out. GVI
would like to thank the Environment Education Section, SIF, and
Friends of Vallee de Mai for organising this years event, and all
involved will be looking forward to the next one.

GVI SEYCHELLES

March 2014, ISSUE 2

Charitable trust
following week, putting our anxious pirates even further on edge.
Day two quickly rolled around, and we sent the other two groups
out to find the underwater clues. Once the clues were collected,
and all our pirates were back safely on land, the real hunt could
begin. Treasure had been hidden all over base, and with the aid of
some clues and the underwater code theyd uncovered, our pirates
set off on the hunt. After a lot of scurrying around, some pirate
bribery, the loss of many peg legs, and some fantastic costumes, the
teams began collecting their golden doubloons. Ro and Jilly became
strict enforcers of the Pirate Law rules that, if broken, ensured
that felonious teams were fined their precious doubloons.
Teams were buying clues, playing dirty, and generally running
Pirate mischief abounded last month here in Cap Ternay, as we held
our Great Dash for Doubloons Charity Challenge.
The premise was simple enough four teams of raggedy pirates had
to set out on an underwater and land-based scavenger hunt,
searching for clues, particular objects and lost doubloons, as they
hunted for the grand prize - a treasure chest full of booty! There
were some tricky challenges thrown in along the way to make
things even harder.
On the day scheduled for our challenge, pirates awoke to a
mysterious map on the blackboard, showing where hidden items
could be found in one of our dive sites in Bay Ternay. Once theyd
all recorded the information, there was a race to determine who
would hit the oceans first each team had to bail out their boats,
using sponges, buckets and good old team work as fast as possible.
The first two teams were awarded prized positions on Dive A while
the others were left sweating it out until Dive B.
And so, the boat was off and our pirate divers descended below the
waves to see what they could find. Teams on Dive A were well on
their way, and had almost managed to collect all our coded clues
just before a big storm rolled in, meaning we had to recall and
reassess our rush for gold.
Unfortunately for those on Dive B, it was decided that the weather
was too rough, and so the whole day was rescheduled for the

around causing mischief, until finally there were only a few minutes
left on the clock. As our pirate crews started showing up, we could
see that it looked like it was going to be a close call on who would
win the day. Suddenly, with just a minute to spare, one of the
teams came dashing in holding up a big treasure chest, so sure that
theyd won the day! Unfortunately, they hadnt actually opened it,
and when they did all they found was a cheeky note from Team 4,
whod already cleared out all the gold, winning the day!
Overall it was a great success, and the volunteers had loads of fun.
Most importantly, we were able to raise over $800 for our
Charitable Trust recipients, the children of The Presidents Village
Childrens Home. This money has since been contributed towards
buying each child a special Christmas gift.
Thanks again to all those who supported us in this challenge, and to
all the volunteers who participated on the day!

National Scholarship
Programme

From August to November 2015 I got the opportunity to

participate in the GVI Cap Ternay Marine Expedition Program as a
National Scholar. I work with the Green Islands Foundation (GIF),
a local NGO implementing conservation work mainly on Denis
and North Island. Part of my work with GIF involves undertaking
marine surveys which is why I joined GVI, to learn standardized
and internationally recognized marine monitoring methodologies.
Volunteering at GVI Cap Ternay has been truly an amazing
experience. For three months I dived in turquoise blue waters on
the most beautiful reefs on Mah, encountered endangered turtles,
reef sharks and countless rays and even witnessed the first few
lemon shark pups in the bay for this year's breeding season.

Jennifer and Shiira take part in environmental education

classes for the International School.

During my stay at GVI not only did I get trained on how to

identify coral and survey coral recruits, but I also got the

2015 has been the most successful year yet for the GVI Seychelles

opportunity to learn about the newly developed crown-of-thorns

National Scholarship Programme with eight candidates having

starfish control methodology and participated in the eradication

participated in and completed training on both the GVI Seychelles

program.

Marine Conservation and Island Conservation programmes.

Students have come from a number of organisations including Save

Being at GVI Cap Ternay is also about raising awareness,

Our Seas Foundation, Green Islands Foundation, Seychelles Islands

collaborating with and helping the local community. I took part in

Foundation, Maritime Training College and the University of

numerous activities such as the weekly environmental education

Seychelles. They go away having obtained valuable skills in diving,

session with the International School, playing in-water games and

first aid, species identification and data collection techniques. It is

snorkeling with children from the President's Village, as well as

hoped that they will now use the knowledge and experience they

cleaning up the beach together with local youth organizations.

have gained upon returning to their oganisations or in future

employment.

This experience has definitely increased my knowledge and

understanding of marine ecosystems, but most of all my love for

Below Jennifer Appoo of the Green Islands Foundation tells us

the sea and dedication to marine conservation. Thank you GVI!

about her time on the Marine Conservation Expedition at Cap

Ternay.

Follow GVI Seychelles

Website - www.gvi.co.uk

Charitable Trust website - www.gvi.org

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/GVISeychellesMaheCurieuse

Twitter - https://twitter.com/GVISeychelles

Instagram - #GVITRAVEL