The Madagascar Whale Shark Project Foundation

Congratulations to Armel on defending his master's thesis at the Institut Halieutique et des Sciences Marines in Madagascar ! He finished in the top 3 of his promotion. Armel is one of our colleagues, and has been studying whale shark prey for his master's thesis since 2023. His studies could unravel many mysteries, including explaining what determines the presence of whale sharks, and could ultimately be a major step towards their conservation in Madagascar. Armel now wants to continue his studies and start a PhD thesis, we need all the help we can get to fund this next step in Armel's career ! You can help here: https://lnkd.in/eu7nwSVB

Here it is! We are so pleased to introduce you to our new boat AD ASTRA 😍 It’s a dream coming true, allowing us to have our independence, train our team and students, welcome partners and visitors, facilitate trips at sea for our environmental education program and continue to collect important scientific data on whale sharks for conservation. We are also now able to take you out for a day of science ! AD ASTRA is a 9.8 motor boat fully equipped for research. This couldn’t be possible without the support of Matechmad who are lending us a Suzuki DF200 A engine, Tropical Boat for building the hull locally in Madagascar and their support, and last not but least our partner SHARKPROJECT possible ! Thanks to Julie from for the beautiful typography. For those who didn’t get the hint… AD ASTRA means “towards the stars” as in Madagascar, whale sharks are known as the “many stars”.🌟

Last week we met with the GEF6-AMP team to further discuss our contribution to the identification of a new Key Biodiversity Area (KBA) in Northwest Madagascar. Thanks to our data on whale sharks, the region qualifies as one of the 10 major whale shark hotspots in the world, which triggers some of the criteria required to identify a new KBA, along with the presence of endangered humpback dolphins sighted on our surveys. We are so glad our data, largely collected by volunteer scientists thanks to photo-identification, made this possible! This new KBA adds the Nosy Be seascape to a list of global sites of exceptional biodiversity and will facilitate the designation of a future Marine Protected Area (MPA) 🌊

Our whale shark and marine megafauna dataset, collected since 2015 by The Madagascar Whale Shark Project Foundation, supports the identification of new Key Areas for Marine Biodiversity (KBAs) in North-West Madagascar 🥳 While the process is still ongoing, we truly hope that finally, the whale shark feeding area off Nosy Be, can be worthy of this recognition as one of the only marine KBAs in Madagascar.

We applaud Madagascar for seizing an illegal boat found fishing endangered sharks without a license in Madagascar. The boat was found a mere 80 kilometers from the coast, in an area known to be used by whale sharks. However, this is not over yet... Another boat is still at sea, and a big fine is now owed. We truly hope justice is done and this story serves as an example for the wider region, which is a shark hotspot where sadly illegal fishing is rampant.

We need you!  We're seeking a social media specialist to help us develop our communications strategy. Fluent French and English are required. MISSIONS 1.⁠ ⁠Initial analysis : Audit existing social accounts (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn) Define our audience profile Evaluate our social media strategy Define appropriate social networks Identify growth opportunities Compile all recommendations 2.⁠ ⁠Content strategy : Development of a customized content strategy Creation of editorial calendars Training our teams to be autonomous DETAILS Profile :  -curious, organized, able to take initiative and analyze, creative, attentive, meticulous, able to make proposals & drive teams from different backgrounds and countries -at least one experience in the charity sector -fluent in French and English Location :  100% remote Start date : As soon as possible. Other terms to be discussed. Possibility to progress to new missions as a communication team coordinator or consultant within the Foundation. Please send your CV and covering letter to info@madawhalesharks.org

Want to swim with whale sharks and support the only program on whale shark conservation in Madagascar? Last places left for the 2024 season 🏝   - 𝐉𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐮𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤: Join us on our research boat and accompany our science team out at sea, while enjoying daily lectures and staying in a beautiful villa.  Our most exclusive offer to learn all about whale sharks. - 𝐉𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐮𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝟏𝟖 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬:  Swim with whale sharks every day while contributing to data collection and joining our field team. Fluent French is required. Great for active travellers who want to experience Madagascar fully. - 𝐉𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐮𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲: Join us on our research boat and accompany our science team out at sea to discover what we do on a daily basis! For those with a packed schedule. - 𝐉𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐮𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 & 𝐒𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤: Daily freediving training (line & exploration) followed by our usual scientific activities. Accommodation not included. A unique blend of training & science for all levels. 👉 Information and bookings: travel@madawhalesharks.org https://lnkd.in/eE6qqcHY 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑢𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑐ℎ 𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑛𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑏𝑒 𝑔𝑢𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑑, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑘𝑠, 𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑐ℎ 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑒. 𝑆𝑤𝑖𝑚𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑘𝑠 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑎𝑙𝑤𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑏𝑒 𝑑𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑑𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡. 𝑌𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑝𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑡𝑜 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑝𝑠 𝑑𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑙𝑦 𝑠𝑢𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑠 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘 🌟 📷 © Stella Diamant

Looking back at an incredible first #worldsoceanday in Nosy Be, Madagascar 🐳 It was a great day spent celebrating the oceans together with the community, and really wonderful to see so many people (350!) showing up ✨ Thanks to our local partner Mada Megafauna for the amazing organisation.

Great summary of our newest collaborative paper on whale shark collisions by Melissa 🐳 Hobson

2023 was a historic season for whale shark conservation in Madagascar. The code of conduct that we have introduced in 2017 officially became part of the Malagasy law! Implementation of the law is ongoing and we are working on the next steps. We will continue to offer our free training sessions to operators in the region in 2024. Key points for the code of conduct are: - Boats must stay at least 15m away from the shark - Only 1 boat at a time per shark - Slide into the water instead of jumping in - When swimming with the shark, stay at least 3m away - Do not touch the shark - Do not use flash photography - Do not restrict the sharks movements We truly hope this marks the start of a new era for whale shark tourism in Madagascar. Thank you Xavi R. for the beautiful illustrations!