Volunteer research in Mozambique
I managed to get in contact with the lead whale shark scientist Simon Pierce of University of Queensland and have started the wheels in motion, lining up a few weeks research work off the coast of Mozambique on Tofu Beach when my girl and I head overseas mid next year.
Simon is involved with the following 3 major conservation programs in Southern Africa and recommends each one highly and as offering fantastic diving and diverse research experiences:
Simon works closely with another marine scientist Andrea, who is the world expert on manta rays. Their combined research is based on whale shark and manta ray population ecology and conservation, as well as working with a couple of Non-Government Organisations in Mozambique on more general marine conservation issues, particularly shark fishing and turtle hunting. You can check out Simon and Andrea’s website (www.giantfish.org) to get a slightly better idea of what they are about.
Both the ‘Quest Under the Seas’ and ‘All-Out’ volunteer programs provide an amazing chance to help make a difference in understanding the biology and preserving the habitats of these amazing sharks and they give you the chance to swim with the largest known fish on the planet in their natural environment. The only downside I can pull is that both programs are expensive, coming in at almost £3000 (around $6200 Australian) to participate in a 12 week program. I don’t know about you but although my budget doesn’t always cater for dropping that much cash while traveling, I couldn’t think of a better way to part with the coin.
While on the topic, do you know of any conservation programs going on worldwide? Send me a shout out and post up links to projects you know of and lets start collating a definitive list of worthwile volunteer groups. If you have travelled recently or even if you look locally post up your thoughts on where we could be helping and what we could be doing together to make a difference.
