Lend your voice to sharks
What if your country was declared a shark sanctuary but people knew little to nothing about it, or didn’t even understand sharks needed protection? Our public campaign to raise awareness for sharks and rays is launching this month in Honduras thanks to funding from the US Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the Houston Zoo and the […]
Calema or #52, the amazing transatlantic migratory tiger shark
A year ago, during our coastal shark study field work off the coast of Boavista, Cabo Verde, West Africa, we caught a female tiger shark. After ensuring she was in good shape and taking a range of measurements, we outfitted her with a satellite transmission tag on her dorsal fin and initially called her #52. […]
“Elasmovangelizing”
As I checked into my flight recently at Panama’s International Airport, I was asked a slew of security questions, where I revealed that I am a biologist. When pressed for what form of biology I dedicate time to, I shared “sharks”. Inciting a gasp from the agent. “Hey, sharks are amazing, beautiful creatures” I countered. […]
How fragile we are. In memoriam, Zeddy Seymour.
In July, the unthinkable happened. We lost one of our own to a tragic accident. It hit us hard and changed us all. In pursuit of fish to eat and ever deeper depths in a sport he increasingly embraced, Zeddy Seymour, our Cabo Verde Country Coordinator, went spearfishing while in island of Sal. He did […]
Ambergris Caye’s youth ready to beat plastic pollution
As part of our outreach and education program to change behaviors in demand and use of plastics, we recently joined forces with Rotaract Club of Ambergris Caye to create an interactive awareness raising campaign on how to curb the threat of plastic pollution. In one week’s time, outreach staff of both organizations reached over 500 […]
Cabo Verde’s newborn sharks are at risk
As with all fish, sharks also start out small…sometimes, very small. The world’s largest fish, the whale shark historically known to reach up to 20m (66ft) has young that on average measure 40-55cm long (1.5ft) when born. And although mysteries still surround where whale sharks are pupped and grow up when small, the birthing and […]
Using the earbones of fish to fill knowledge gaps in the region’s deep-sea fisheries research
The earbones of a fish – called otoliths – have bands, just like trees, which reveal the fish’s age and other key markers from its life. These delicate, translucent structures are the focus of MarAlliance’s latest groundbreaking study of several deep-sea species’ life history. For this research, we set up a highly specialized lab to […]
Community champions: Guna sea savior Leyson Navarro
“I want to support my community members by using my knowledge for their wellbeing and for a better use of our natural riches.” Leyson’s eyes fill with pride when he talks about his family, studies and indigenous background. Originally from a small community called Ugupseni (“small beach” in Guna language) located on an island covered […]
MarAlliance founder Dr. Rachel Graham receives Patrick Jones-Chattanooga Zoo Conservation Award
MarAlliance is pleased to announce that founder and Executive Director, Dr. Rachel Graham, received the Patrick Jones-Chattanooga Zoo Conservation Award. The award is an annual recognition by the Zoo Conservation Outreach Group (ZCOG) and the Chattanooga Zoo of excellence in wildlife conservation efforts in the Americas. Dr. Graham received the award for her work with […]
Sharks International: MarAlliance shares a breadth of results and information on sharks and rays
The start of June saw MarAlliance experts presenting exciting results from our collective shark and ray research efforts at the Sharks International conference – aka the World Cup of Sharks – in Joao Pessao, northeastern Brazil. This shark science and conservation marathon couldn’t have been more timely with both World Environment Day (June 5th) and […]
MarAlliance’s World Oceans Day activities mobilized the next generations of decision-makers
The Ocean is rising and so are we! Every year, on the 8th of June the world celebrates World Oceans Day to highlight its importance for the survival of our blue planet. MarAlliance joined the global movement with activities that spanned the Atlantic Ocean, from Cabo Verde to the Caribbean. From art activities, to marches […]
Miskito Cays, unexplored marine wildlife under threat
The Miskito Cays in the far eastern stretches of Honduras known as La Moskitia, represent one of the last remote marine wildernesses in the Caribbean, and as we recently discovered, a veritable “wild west”of the sea. In search of answers on the status of marine megafauna in the Caribbean’s most difficult to access areas, the […]
Panama’s Guna Yala local fishers become champions for marine resources management
“We are scared of lionfish, they will kill us if we eat them!” This local fisherman’s testimony was echoed by his fellow fishers during a knowledge exchange workshop with Mexican and Belizean counterparts organized by MarAlliance in Guna Yala. MarAlliance’s ongoing lionfish and marine megafauna project in Panama’s indigenous Guna Yala region answers a real […]
Markets developed and driven by fishers: a solution for sustainable fisheries?
Small scale fisheries represent a chain with a variable number of links that includes the fish, the fisher and the buyer, often with additional links such as markets, resellers, wholesalers, stores or restaurants and the final consumers. Each link sets up demand that can undermine the sustainability of vulnerable coral reef-associated fisheries. In small communities, […]
New light shed on little known night sharks
Monitoring large, mobile and little known species requires a lot of work and dedication, and not a small amount of luck. We’ve all had days, and even weeks where we just can’t catch a break (or a shark), despite all factors – good weather, ideal location, great crew – being in our favor. And then […]
Mnine d’Mar: Connecting Children to the Ocean
Learning to use a Global Positioning Service device and accurately recording field data are some of the many skills that students receive during the Mnine d’Mar course. It’s dawn when Mohammed wakes up in the Barraca (Portuguese for slum) where he lives in the back of Sal Rei, the capital of Boavista, Cabo Verde. He can […]