Mozambique marine conservation

Monitor whale shark or bottlenose dolphin numbers and behavior, as well as loggerhead turtle nesting activity and coral reef condition.

Mozambique has 2515 km of coastline with world class tropical beaches and coral reefs along Africa's Indian Ocean. A vibrant afro-portuguese culture is prominant within the variety of tribes that occupy Mozambique. Mozambique was a Portuguese colony and this influence is visibly apparent in the style of buildings and cultural norms - Portuguese is the official language. During the past decade Mozambique has been recovering from 15 odd years of civil war between the two major political groups Renamo and Frelemo. It is emerging from this past and being one of the world’s poorest countries to the exciting stage it is at now where political stability and amazing natural resources make it one of Africa’s most sought after destinations.

From a tourism perspective the biggest draw cards for Mozambique are it’s tropical beaches and spectacular marine life. With a history of limited coastal development combined with beautiful expansive beaches and amazing numbers of whale sharks, manta rays, dolphins, turtles, coral fishes and reefs, the setting for this experience is hard to beat. Volunteer in Mozambique on this Marine Conservation Project and help with hands-on whale shark research, coral reef monitoring, humpbacked whale monitoring and turtle monitoring and explore one of Africa's best scuba diving destinations. As a volunteer on the Whale Shark Conservation Project you will help carry out the marine research and monitoring activities for the project under the guidance of our project co-ordinator. You will join other volunteers on the project to collect the data via beach walks, boat surveys, swims and scuba dives off the coastline of Tofo in Mozambique. Volunteers are needed not only to carry out the field activities but also to help fund the project. You can expect an excellent diving, snorkeling and beach experience whilst gaining first hand marine research skills and contributing to a worthwhile project.

Whale sharks are the oceans biggest fish and although they are sharks, are harmless to people since they feed on plankton. Whale sharks are a threatened species and are relatively easy to monitor owing to their size (up to 20m long) and swimming next to them is an awe inspiring experience! They are also good indicators of ocean productivity and can play a flagship role for the conservation of other marine creatures. Very little is known about the population dynamics and threats to whale sharks and with the increase of boat and fishing activities their feeding and migratory activities may become influenced and they are vulnerable to death or injury through boat strikes.

The coral reefs that so much marine life is dependant on are under threat of exploitation, bleaching, alien invasive species and other ecological changes associated with tourism and other human activities. One of the components of the project is to monitor the condition of coral reefs in the Tofo area using methods based on the international reef check program. This involves doing scuba diving transects along the reefs and recording coral cover and indicator species of fish in one of Africa’s best diving destinations.

As a volunteer you will help monitor whale shark numbers, behavior and ecology and take underwater identification photographs of the whale sharks. You will also join research scuba dives to help monitor the condition of coral reefs and indicator species of reef fish. At certain times of the year it you may help survey humpbacked whale numbers and turtle nesting activity as well as other indicators of the health of marine biodiversity. You may also assist with beach cleanups and other general environmental activities. You may also help upload and analyze the field data and create awareness among the general public of the importance of the marine environment.

The whale shark component of the Whale Shark Marine Conservation Project involves joining boat launches under the guidance of our project co-ordinator on ocean safaris to snorkel with whale sharks in the open ocean. It involves taking underwater photographs for identifying the whale sharks as well as recording other ecological information. In order to carry out these activities you will need to be a capable swimmer (able to swim 100m unassisted) and snorkeler, being able to hold your breath to dive down would be an advantage.

The coral reef monitoring involves joining boat launches under the guidance of our project co-ordinator on scuba dives and carrying our underwater data collection on indicator species of coral fish and the condition and cover of coral on the reefs. In order to carry out these activities you will need to be capable of equalizing your ear pressure and willing to learn to scuba dive. A four day internationally recognized PADI open water diving course is provided as part of this project to train you to be able to carry out this coral reef monitoring. If you already have this qualification you may do an advanced open water diving course instead or an equivalent number of extra research dives.

During June-August you may help monitor the numbers of humpbacked whales on their seasonal migration up and down the coast. This involves beach based observations using binoculars and boat based observations recording the numbers of whales and where possible the makeup of the pods. Although their numbers have increased these whales are still vulnerable and this work will help provide recommendations for the improved conservation of these important ocean giants.

You may help survey for turtle mortality on beaches in the areas around Tofo. Historically, loggerhead turtles have nested here in significant numbers and although these as well as leatherback turtles and hawksbill turtles are sighted in-water, their nesting has declined dramatically owing to poaching. The surveys involve working with local community representatives to patrol the beaches at night during laying season (November-January) recording nest sites, finding turtle shells and doing GPS points to track mortality numbers, and tagging adults where possible. In addition you will have a chance to do morning observations to see if any fishermen are catching turtles as well as help raise awareness about turtles in the area.

A number of more general environmental awareness and cleanup activities will be also carried out during the project. The information collected during the field work is collated into a computer database both on-site and at the head office and some of the data is uploaded onto an international on-line database.