MEET THE FOUNDER: LOVE THE OCEANS

CAN YOU BRIEFLY DESCRIBE LOVE THE OCEANS FOR THOSE WHO’VE NOT HEARD OF YOUR AWESOME CHARITY?

“Love the Oceans is a marine conservation organisation in Mozambique. We’re working to establish a Marine protected area in our region. This involves research and community outreach such as fisheries research to prove that the current methods of fishing are unsustainable. We carry out Coral Reef research to prove what we have is worth protecting and we also perform Humpback Whale, Whale Shark, Mantuary and Turtle research; we have critical endangered nesting turtles in the area. We observe ocean trash research to look at the different types of waste we have washing up on the shores and what can be done to reduce it.

Furthermore, we have a community outreach program where we teach basic marine resource management to 10-13-year olds. We teach swimming to 4-18-year olds to encourage and foster a passion for the ocean and the water in general, which in turn should help to save lives. We have a sustainable fishing project, where I work with the local fishermen in the area exploring the different types of fishing and how to move away from unsustainable fishing. Our sustainable livelihoods section of the charity works to develop different sources of income that reduces the reliance on the ocean for food and finances.