Madagascar
May/June 2010
In May/June 2010 I took part in an extensive survey of the marine life of southern Madagascar.
Organised by the French “Musee Nationale d’Histoire Naturelle” this survey was also part of the program “La Planete Revisitee”, a French initiative to survey and promote the conservation of some of the last remaining important and poorly known ecosystems around the world.
After several days spent exploring Port Dauphin and its surroundings I went aboard the purpose built research vessel Antea, a somewhat strange, high-sided catamaran which rolled badly in any sort of seas and had very cramped accomodation in the depths of the narrow hulls. I spent the next three weeks working from this vessel in the inshore waters around the south-east corner of Madagascar.
Scientists
Accompanied by a team
Accompanied by a team of 7 scientists we dived several times a day and carried out extensive underwater photography, observation and specimen collecting in these largely unexplored waters. The environment was unique, dominated by an enormous variety of sponges and soft corals. The fish fauna was also new to me, although the area has been almost completely fished clear of any sharks for the trade in fins. Over the months of the expedition, with some 40 divers in the water every day all around the coast, only one shark was sighted. This seems to have allowed many fish species to reach enormous size, some of the Parrotfishes and Wrasses with which I already familiar had here reached sizes I have never seen before.
Scientists
Accompanied by a team
Accompanied by a team of 7 scientists we dived several times a day and carried out extensive underwater photography, observation and specimen collecting in these largely unexplored waters. The environment was unique, dominated by an enormous variety of sponges and soft corals. The fish fauna was also new to me, although the area has been almost completely fished clear of any sharks for the trade in fins. Over the months of the expedition, with some 40 divers in the water every day all around the coast, only one shark was sighted. This seems to have allowed many fish species to reach enormous size, some of the Parrotfishes and Wrasses with which I already familiar had here reached sizes I have never seen before.
The Local Population
The local population lives in grinding poverty and the only fishing they now undertake is for the locally abundant small Scads using light handlines from large dugout canoes. Practically their sole source of income is to catch several different species of Rock Lobster using woven basket traps, for local wholesalers who collect them from villages up and down the coast and send them off to the European market,.
The work posed many challenges, underwater work was difficult and seasonal algal blooms often caused very poor conditions. Our very first dive was my introduction to true zero visibility, impossible to even see my hand on my dive mask at 30m, not a pleasant experience, disorienting and quite dangerous. There was often a strong surge and currents to contend with.
On board Antea I executed numerous detailed drawings and paintings of many of the specimens we collected, working away at night in my small corner of the research area. Creating such detailed portraits of specimens aboard the pitching and rolling Antea was another challenge.
The entire expedition ran over several months and covered the entire southern coast of Madagascar. Often appalling conditions prevented surveying many areas so a great deal remains to be discovered in this fascinating region. However the overall expedition was a great success with many new molluscs and crustaceans being recorded, including a possible new species of Giant Clam, as well as several new fish species.
