Omali Vida Nón’s team has been collecting fisheries landing data since December 2016; this work is being done by six focal points from the project’s fishing communities. Twice a week (every Tuesday and Friday), they get information about the number, weight and length of animals caught by fishers, as well as fishing gear and grounds used. During the dry season (“gravana”, June-September), we have been working closely with the focal points to support their work and find ways of improving data collection. On the 5th of October, we’ve organized a refresher training session and launched a new questionnaire for the landing surveys, so as to get more detailed information about fishing in Príncipe. We have also started producing short summaries using the fisheries landing data to return this information to the fishers.

During the last 2 weeks, Baited Remote Underwater Video (BRUVs) stations were tested for the first time in Príncipe Island, with support from Dr Phil Doherty (University of Exeter, UK), who helped us setting-up and implementing this methodology.  This non-invasive technique allows recording diversity, abundance and behaviour of marine species by attracting them into the field of view of an underwater camera with a bait. During Phil’s visit, different protocols were tested to identify the most suitable for Príncipe’s marine environment. Snappers, rays, sharks and many other species were recorded during this pilot! See a snapshot of Principe's marine life in video below.

We are currently fundraising to continue this study in 2018 and better understand this unique marine environment - get in touch if you´d like to contribute.