Seahorse Protection through Ecotourism

We are thrilled to announce that in May this year, Charbane "Bani" Ussy joined ParCo as our Responsible Tourism Officer and Abacar Amade joined as Marine Science Officer. 

Bani grew up in Vilankulo and moved to the UK for studies at age 13. She recently returned to Vilankulo with a TEFL in hand (English teaching degree) and an interest in working for an environmental NGO. Fortunately, she landed at ParCo and started leading the seahorse tours!

Things have picked up since Bani joined us. We have already conducted more than 50 tours with over 200 guest this year, surpassing our annual target. This uptick in business translates directly to extra commitment toward seahorse protection by local fishers. On the last tour, we spotted more than 10 seahorses - mostly Hippocampus kuda (spotted seahorse), with a few Hippocampus camelopardalis (giraffe seahorse).

We are also very grateful to the guests from Santorini Hotel who visited in April and made a large monetary donation along with snorkeling masks for kids and adults, sunscreen and hats for people with albinism, a nice dry bag and several cloth totes.

The donated funds enabled us to buy a refridgerator for drinking water for the tours and to engage a designer to create a logo that will soon be displayed on signage in Mangalisse village. We will also upgrade the bathrooms as we wait for construction of a comprehensive new building planned by the World Bank along with the National Institute of Tourism over the coming years.

Thanks for your continued interest in community-led tourism and seahorse protection!

Links:

• http://www.aparco.org