Its Whale Shark Time in Seychelles Again!

Guess what? It’s that time of year again, and Whale Shark Season 2014 is officially underway. The interns have arrived and been trained, the Microlight is up and flying, all we need now are some big ol’ fish to join the party! Before we get into full season swing let us introduce you to this years team…

The Team Leaders:

 

Savi and Jo are this year's team leaders... 

·         Dr. Joanna Bluemel, from the UK; Jo is the MCSS Project Coordinator and is analysing the whale shark data generated by the monitoring programme as well as overseeing all of the other MCSS projects.

·         Savi Leblond, is from France & the USA, and returns for a third whale shark season.  After interning and ‘scholaring’, Savi could not stay away from Seychelles and is juggling being whale shark season team leader with his other project as Marine Stewardship Project Leader

These two will be ably assisted by a 'Scholar' from last year's intern team; Freya Womersley, a graduate from the UK aims to help out the interns and team leaders alike to help make this season go swimmingly! 

This seasons scholar Freya... just add sharks!

The successful interns have all been initiated into the team and are officially labeled, ’shark bait’ (hoo ha ha). This year they are from all four corners of the globe:

Sophie Raillard (Shark Bait (or bate?) No.1) is from New Caledonia (a small French island lost in the Pacific). She has a Masters Degree in Protected Area Management and has joined our team to expand her fieldwork experiences in biodiversity monitoring and conservation of protected species.

 Amber Metallo (Shark Bait No. 2) is from the United States, and is currently working on her Master’s degree studying invertebrates and artificial reefs. She also wants to gain practical experience before deciding what career path to go down in future, as well as completing number one on her bucket list…swim with a whale shark, obviously.

 Tom Nuttell-Smith (Shark Bait No.3) is originally from Botswana but has spent much of his life being schooled in the UK. As well as obtaining a degree in Biology and Animal Behavior, Tom has spent time volunteering abroad with the aim to explore and conserve the marine environment.

 Michaela Hadolt  (Shark Bait No.4) comes from Austria and in in the midst of her studies in Vetinerary Medicine specializing in wildlife medicine and conservation. She aims to consolidate her skills in conservation medicine, gain working experience within a team, and of course, enhance her knowledge on our big spotty friends.

Megan Rohan (Shark Bait No.5) is from Australia but has been living in the UK for the past 7 years. Having always had a fascination with the ocean and dreamed of meeting a whale shark face to face she is dropping in on Seychelles before making her way back to Australia!

Here's hoping for a busy 2014 season!!