Te Mana O Te Moana

The end of the second awareness tour in the Australes

helene.duran — Sat, 09 Dec 2017 01:18:26 +0000

The second school awareness tour in the Australes is ending. Thanks to the support of Pew Polynesia and our animators, the various maritime management plans and their importance are now known to the school. Thus, all of them are aware of the positive impact those plans might have been achieved, for example, a ” Rahul Tamari ” or an application for the” AME ” (the marine education area), and now understand the terms of PGEM, AMP , AMG, ZPR, etc.
Our animator Magali continued her tour to Raivavae to finish it off at Tubuai. After selecting areas for launching, children and teachers benefited from an information session followed by a session on site. As in Rurutu and Rimatara, a session was dedicated in class, followed by an introduction to the Reef Check method through the counting of certain species of fish (e.g. Butterfly Fish, convict fish, etc.). Invertebrates (e.g. sea urchins, hava, clams) and types of Coral (massIve etc.)
A total of 290 pupils have been sensitized to the protection of the marine environment during this tour in the Australes.
Magali took advantage of his stay in Tubuai to participate in the science festival organized by The Association Proscience. She has informed more than 300 students through explanations, including the recognition of Marine Turtles with the scales of their head. Thus, the hei moana project has been honoured with participatory sciences.
Magali also participated in the “book fair” in Raivavae where the entire elementary school was sensitized on the protection of the marine environment.
A great tour which has enabled nearly 600 chuldren to be introduced to the participatory sciences and the various methods they can implement for the protection of French Polynesia.

The visit of specialists to our seaturtle care center

helene.duran — Fri, 01 Dec 2017 22:00:43 +0000

Thank you to Hervé Boissin of the Louis Mallardé Institute for organizing the visit of our care center by the world’s leading mosquito specialists. They were abble to receive informations about our turtle residents and received turtle booklets. These specialists went to Polynesia for a congress on the Gump research station in Moorea.

Release of 2 of our residents: Muto’i and Milla!

helene.duran — Tue, 07 Nov 2017 01:16:10 +0000

On October 12, we released two green turtles.

Muto’i (“police officer” in Tahitian) is a green turtle that was seized last August by the gendarmes of Moorea in an individual where she waited returned on the back before being cooked. She was at the side of another turtle, of which only the plastron (underside of the carapace) remained. Muto’i therefore avoided death and presented only superficial wounds upon its arrival which quickly healed. It was released in Moorea with of one of the gendarmes who rescued her and we hope she can continue to evolve in our Polynesian waters.

In June, Milla, a young green turtle was also rescued by a family aboard a sailboat while floating in the middle of a cluster of seaweed at marina in Tahiti. The impact on his carapace left no doubt as to the origin of his injury: a spear gun arrow that could have been fatal.

The two turtles moved in different directions when they were launched: Milla to the sea and Muto’i to the land…

Release of one of our seaturtles : Luce!

helene.duran — Tue, 17 Oct 2017 20:36:14 +0000

Luce was found stuck at the bottom of its nest in Tetiaroa in March 2016. It was covered with small wounds caused by crabs and coral fragments, and was unable to swim. After some months spent in our care centre, its health condition improved a lot and it was placed in our rehabilitation lagoon in order to have time to break of the habit of interacting with us and to get used to the seminatural environment of our lagoon.

We are very happy that Luce will now discover the wild and we hope that it will be back in about ten years in Tetiaroa for the reproductive season !

We thank from the bottom of our hearts all the volunteers that helped Luce and all the team of our care centre. Also, thanks a lot to those that enable our care centre and our nesting monitoring program in Tetiaroa to exist and continue: the InterContinental Moorea Resort & Spa, Vilebrequin, the Environment Directorate in French Polynesia, Tetiaroa Society, The Brando, IFBD…

Hei moana project launching !

helene.duran — Tue, 03 Oct 2017 18:57:03 +0000

This week, we launch the project Hei moana, the sentinels of the ocean! It targets anyone interested in marine worldand who would like to get involved in its protection. Our first ever eco-sentinel training, free and open to all, will take place this Saturday, October 7th at the InterContinental Moorea Resort & Spa, from 9 am to 4 pm. During this training, we will provide all the information and tools needed to get involved in collecting data on coral reefs, sea turtles and marine mammals by simple and interesting methods.

Other eco-sentinel formations are being organized on Tahiti (starting on Arue, Saturday, October 14), Bora Bora, Huahine, Raiatea, Rangiroa and Fakarava: do not hesitate to contact us directly to be kept informed of dates and sign up. For more information on this project click here !

A BEST 2.0 project funded by the European Union.

Big thanks to our collaborators for our 14th year of actions!

helene.duran — Tue, 26 Sep 2017 23:11:43 +0000

Our association enters its 14th year of actions for the protection of the marine world !!! Richard Bailey and Cécile Gaspar, founders of te mana o te moana on September 23, 2004, wish to extend a warm and hearty thank you to all present and past collaborators, Board members, active and benefactor members, volunteers and Partners , funders and patrons for these 13 years of intense actions, sharing and su ccess with so many others to come !!!

Mauruuru roa to our old and actual collaborators: la DIREN (Direction de l’Environnement en Polynésie française), la DGEE de Polynésie (Direction Générale de l’Education et des Enseignements), l’InterContinental Moorea Resort & Spa, Mission Blue, l’UICN (Union Internationale pour la Conservation de la Nature), le ROM (Réseau Océan Mondial), la Fondation WWF-France (World Wildlife Fundation), la compagnie Vilebrequin, la compagnie Aremiti, la compagnie Terevau, la Fondation the PEW Charitable Trust, la Fondation Nature et Découvertes, Ifrecor Polynésie (Initiative Française pour les Récifs CORalliens), Air Tahiti Nui, Air Tahiti, Moorea Mahana Tours, Fenua Ma, IFBD (Institute for Business and Development), la fondation Ocean Fondation Society (OFS), le CNES, l’ESA, Te Ora Naho – FAPE, l’Intercontinental Tahiti, la FNE (France Nature Environnement), le Groupe Tortues Marines France, la Commune de Moorea-Maiao, le CRIOBE-EPHE (Centre de Recherches Insulaires et Observatoire pour l’Environnement), la NOAA (National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Agency), l’IJSPF (Institut de la Jeunesse et des Sports en Polynésie française), la DRM (Direction des Ressources Marines et Minières), le FFEM (Fond Français pour l’Environnement Mondial), la Délégation à la Recherche du Pays, la fondation PATA (Pacific Asian Traveler Association), la Polynésienne des eaux, la Brasserie de Tahiti, la commune de Arue, la commune de Papeete, l’Assemblée Nationale, l’association TUBA, la compagnie Schmittgall, l’AFD (Agence Française de Développement), l’AFB (Agence Française pour la Biodiversité), The Brando, Tetiaroa Society, Tahiti Legend, Pacsafe, Pacific Beachcomber, le Moorea Dolphin Center, l’UPF (Université de Polynésie Française), le MTES (Ministère de la Transition Écologique et Solidaire), l’association PGEM, le CEPF (Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund), Planète Urgence, l’ANR (Agence Nationale pour la Recherche), le CRISP (Coral Reef Initiaves for South Pacific), la compagnie TOTAL, la fondation Maud Fontenoy, la compagnie VINI, le Paul Gauguin, le Vice Rectorat en Polynésie française, la Fondation pour la Nature de l’Homme, la Fondation Annenberg, le Cluster maritime, la fondation Acroporis, le programme Te Meum, le Haut-Commissariat de Polynésie française, le Fonds BIOME…

Coralie’s arrival, thanks to our partner Air Tahiti Nui

helene.duran — Tue, 26 Sep 2017 19:41:28 +0000

At the beginning of the laying season, we would like to thank Air Tahiti Nui, partner of the association Te mana o te moana for more than 4 years. The “tiare” company allowed the arrival last week of Coralie Balmy for the volunteer missions of the follow-up of green turtles eggs in Tetiaroa which will begin very soon, in collaboration with Tetiaroa Society and the hotel The Brando. Coralie will participate in the actions of awareness and protection of Polynesian marine world as well as help us with sick or injured turtles, thanks to its expertise on turtles in care after a year spent at CESTMed of Le Grau du Roi in France.

Two new collaborations for more actions for the marine species conservation : Vaiarii & Laëtitia !

helene.duran — Fri, 15 Sep 2017 20:37:51 +0000

The whole team is very happy to welcome Vaiarii, who recently joined us as Project Manager.
Originally from Moorea, this young animal and environment enthusiast, has carried out studies of biology and ecology in Bordeaux.
In love with her island, she wished to join the association Te mana o te moana in order to work actively for the protection of marine species and the preservation of her Fenua. She is participating in the development of the “Hei moana” eco-sentinel network, initiated this year to better understand marine resources and involve the population in participatory sciences.

After several visits to French Polynesia, Laëtitia decided to come and settle in Tahiti, fascinated by the richness of our marine resources. As an environmental engineer, she is aware of the threat that men pose to the environment. She worked in the field of waste treatment before. She joined our team to participate in education, research and conservation actions such as the Reef Check and Reef Check Junior coral reef monitoring project and the Polynesian school cuttings of coral.

News of Milla and Muto’i

helene.duran — Thu, 07 Sep 2017 23:42:30 +0000

Milla and Muto’i, our last arrivals, continue their stay in our centre.

The injury on Milla’s shell is healing well, thanks to daily care from Edwige, Anouk and all our other volunteers. It was moved to a quiet nursery to recover from the last turbulent days of the lagoon.

Muto’i, for its part, explores the bottoms of the rehabilitation lagoon, looking for food to feed independently.

To bring their feeding conditions closer to those of the natural environment, we placed on the bottom of the rehabilitation lagoon, a specific device in which the fish was hooked.

The team at the center (veterinarians, educators, biologists, volunteers and trainees) works every day so that Milla, Muto’i and all our other residents can recover so that they can go back to the ocean and head for new adventures! Currently, there are 29 marine turtles in care!

News of Milla, one of our newly arrived sea turtle

helene.duran — Wed, 16 Aug 2017 18:19:45 +0000

On June the 16th, a new sea turtle unfortunately joined our care center. Milla is a young green sea turtle, approximately 11 kg, that was rescued by a family on board a sailing ship, while floating in the middle of a cluster of algae in the Marina Taina in Tahiti. The impact on its shell left no doubt as to the origin of its injury: a harpoon that could have been fatal.

In very good health despite its injury, Milla spent several days in intensive care in our care room. Then it quickly got better. As Milla refused to feed itself with fish fillets or squid, we collected red algae and noted with relief that it enjoyed red algae a lot.

Green sea turtles are omnivorous when they are young and then become herbivorous in adulthood, feeding exclusively with algae or seagrass. Milla already had its preferences…!

Milla’s appetite is now back and its wound on the shell heals quickly thanks to the good care of the entire team that got itself actively involved in Milla’s quick recovery.

Its health improvement finally allowed Milla to join our rehabilitation lagoon !

Thanks a lot to Ninon, Amber and the whole family Jacquemin for helping this turtle with efficiency ! Thanks also to the Direction de l’Environnement de la Polynésie Française, to the InterContinental Moorea Resort & Spa and to all our donors and volunteers, without whom our care centre would not exist !

Please, feel free to visit Milla at our centre located within the InterContinental Moorea Resort & Spa !

Don’t forget : if you find a sick or injured sea turtle, contact our care centre, authorized by ministerial order at 87 71 53 44 (24h/24, 7d/7) !