More from Afar
posted under Marine Conservation |
Ha. I wish. I am definitely not anywhere Afar. I’m in my living room. Watching Anthony Bourdain in Panama on the Travel Channel. Love him, but why do I only catch the shows where he’s someplace tropical near good diving when the only travel I have coming up is all pretty much landlocked or at least not near water you’d want to dive in. The canals of Amsterdam? No thanks. The Potomac? Pass.
So in the meantime I’ll enjoy fantasizing about frolicking with marine life through the premier issue of Afar magazine. They kindly shared this link with me so I’m hoping that means I can share it with you.
On page 34 there’s a feature titled “Good Trips: Adventures in Saving the Oceans.” We get asked for advice on marine conservation related travel. This article has several fantastic trips for budding marine biologists.
Cambodia: Marine Conservation Cambodia offers two-week trips to help save the region’s sea horses, reefs, and mangroves. Divers are asked to map the reefs and help clean them, photograph marine life, and meet with the locals to share ideas about sustainability.
Costa Rica: an organization called Pretoma takes volunteers to patrol beaches for nesting sea turtles and collect eggs to take to a protected hatchery. Visitors can also escort the hatchlings to the sea – that would be a magical experience.
Fiji, Madagascar, etc.: Blue Ventures trains divers to gather data on the reefs and to work with the local populations to set up ecotourism projects. Blue Ventures offers a number of expeditions to various destinations in the South Pacific. They believe in working with coastal communities to help them live in harmony with their environment.
Greece: Tethys Research Institute offers volunteer projects to help sustain short-beaked common dolphin populations. Volunteers photograph dorsal fins, and record dolphin behavior and ecology.
Kenya: The East African Whale Shark Trust was established to help discourage the use of nylon nets for fishing, which can entangle the fins of whale sharks and cause them to die. During peak shark season (February to March), volunteers help researchers tag and collect data on sharks.
South Africa: The Ocean Research Conservation Africa Foundation asks volunteers to study tide pools, river water, sea horses and fish populations, and to collect data on whales and dolphins.
Suriname: The Oceanic Society asks volunteers to help patrol sea turtle nesting beaches and to transport turtle eggs to safe areas away from predators and erosion. Volunteers also escort hatchlings to sea.
I know how I’m planning my next vacation. Doing good and having a good time doing it.
