
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Catch shares? A new approach the fisheries management
This sounds interesting. Instead of trying to run around policing fishermen, why not give them give them ownership of the fish and let them police themselves? I've got to read more up on this to see how it works.

Saturday, May 19, 2012
Cichlid photo competition pictures of the Month
Click here to look at some awesome pictures of cichlids from the British Cichlid Association's web forum. Every month they have this competition. I'll be showcasing my favorite photos from it regularly from now on. Here are a few from May's competition.


Cichlid photo competition pictures of the Month
Friday, May 18, 2012
News from the Beach by Campbell!
Hi
guys,
My
name is Campbell Louw, I am the dive instructor at Aquanuts dive school and
researcher at the Maru research centre alongside Justin Kraus and just want
to tell you a little about life at Kande.
Malawi
is not at the coast and is bordered by Zambia, Tanzania and Mozambique, diving
here is done in the warm, clear, fresh water of Lake Malawi. The lake has about
1650km of coastline, with a maximum depth of 800m. Inland, freshwater diving
brings up images of a dull, cold dive with rocky/bushy surroundings, but guys
this is not die Vaaldam! Malawi has a very chilled out Caribbean feel, with
long white beaches, warm water (24 degrees in June up to a scorching 30 degrees
in December) and tropical climate and vegetation. Visibility is usually around
10m.
The diving
is very interesting with several dive resorts stretching from Nkhata Bay in the
North to Cape Maclear in the South. I am working at Aquanuts dive school at
Kande beach, located in the North of the lake. The dive centre is right on the
beach looking out on Kande island 800m off
shore (a nice swim there every night!). Most of the diving is done on the reef
surrounding the island which consists
mainly of rocky formations. The fish life found in the lake is the most diverse
found in any freshwater lake in the world, with almost a 1000 species of fish living here, most of these are
endemic living nowhere else. This is more than the total number of species to
be found in all the lakes and rivers of Europe and North America combined. Most
of these fish are different species of cichlids (belong to the family cichlidae)
and the diverse array in size, coloration and mating behavior results in every
dive feeling like a dive in a tropical aquarium.
The
mating behavior of the cichlids is fascinating to watch, with these fish taking
care of their young. Craters varying in size from the size of a soup bowl to 1m
deep dongas can be seen everywhere, these are dug by the males and the females
lay their eggs in these nests. If you come to close and the mother feels threatened
she swims up to her brood of little fish, opening her mouth, and in two or
three sweeps all the young form a tight clump and swim into their mothers
beckoning mouth for protection.
The
Maru research centre operates alongside Aquanuts dive school and was the reason
why I decided to start my dive travels in Malawi. Through explosive speciation
all the different species in the lake evolved from a common ancestor in a
relatively short time and the lake is thus a thus a live evolution
“experiment”. At the Maru we study the biodiversity in the north of the lake
and look at the impact of environmental changes and human influences such as
fishing.
Life
on the lake is awesome! I live in a bungalow next to the dive centre opening right
on the beach. Most of our clients come from the overland trucks staying in the
campsite next door and the mix of travelers from all over the world result in
quite a party on a regular basis! I paddle out to the island with a canoe most
mornings for an early dive or sometimes to spear something for the pot. We do
all our fun dives from canoes, launching 1 of our 2 rubber ducks to take
clients on dives.
Being
Africa the diet is something to get used to with nothing processed and I have
not seen dairy since being here, I basically live on avo’s, bananas, tomatoes
and eggs. The coffee produced nearby in Mzuzu is top notch! Not solving my
caffeine addiction but it keeps me smiling.
Safe
diving
Cheers
Campbell

News from the Beach by Campbell!
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Thank God for Science?
This article argues that we should, a least a little bit, and says "Those who magnify recent controversies about science and religion, projecting conflict back into historical time, perpetuate a historical myth to which no historian of science would subscribe."
Not entirely convinced, but certainly the history of science, scientific discovery, and fact-making, is more human and less cold logic and scientific "method" than most people suppose. Read Bruno Latour's "Science in Action" for more on that.

Not entirely convinced, but certainly the history of science, scientific discovery, and fact-making, is more human and less cold logic and scientific "method" than most people suppose. Read Bruno Latour's "Science in Action" for more on that.

Thank God for Science?
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Cool Graphs and other News from the Beach
-At the Maru we have been conducting underwater population and biodiversity surveys for the past 7 months. Twice a month we have gone down and done line transect surveys at two different sites. Below is a graph made from some of the data we have collected. The Y-axis shows the absolute and relative abundance of target species during each survey which are arranged chronologically on the X-axis. Next we will try and find any relationships between this survey data and the weather and water quality monitoring data that we have also been collecting. Stay tuned.
-The Maru also just applied for a grant from the Paul V. Loiselle Conservation Fund of the American Cichlid Assoication in order to train up to Malawians from Fisheries Department of Mzuzu University in underwater observation techniques using SCUBA and cichlid fish identification. Wish us luck!
-Male Mylochromis mollis (see the youtube video below) are just starting to get their flashy breeding colors out around Kande Island in preparation for wooing all their dull female counterparts into cozy little breeding craters. It makes for quite a show.
- Our lazy Sunday afternoon Korean BBQ up at the Zoo in Mzuzu was a big success. Thanks to all the people who showed up and to Bernhard from Chipungu Coffee for supplying us with two beautiful little pigs. We roasted one on spit and buried the other one in ground cooking it Maori style.
- We've put up a small photo gallery at the Maru's website. Check it out at here

-Male Mylochromis mollis (see the youtube video below) are just starting to get their flashy breeding colors out around Kande Island in preparation for wooing all their dull female counterparts into cozy little breeding craters. It makes for quite a show.
- Our lazy Sunday afternoon Korean BBQ up at the Zoo in Mzuzu was a big success. Thanks to all the people who showed up and to Bernhard from Chipungu Coffee for supplying us with two beautiful little pigs. We roasted one on spit and buried the other one in ground cooking it Maori style.
- We've put up a small photo gallery at the Maru's website. Check it out at here

Cool Graphs and other News from the Beach
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