A look back at the Seychelles stopover

29 to 31 October 2022

A look back at the Seychelles stopover

Stopover in Port Victoria, Mahé.

The S.A. Agulhas II arrived in Port Victoria in the early morning of 29 October 2022. A welcome stopover after the operations in Aldabra and on the way to the Seychelles. There were several highlights: the reception on the 29th of a Seychelles delegation led by the Seychelles Minister for the Blue Economy, Jean-François Ferrari, and a day dedicated to school group visits on the 31st of October. In the meantime, many technical operations took place, such as the provisioning of food and equipment, but also the embarkation of new teams, the departure of the previous ones, with both a small twinge of sorrow for those who remain to see them leave and the desire to reach the next destination, an important objective of this second part of the mission to come: the Saya Bank of Malha… the invisible island. The ship left Port Victoria at around 8pm on the evening of 31 October.

Official visit

The official Seychelles delegation was able to discover the ship’s facilities, as well as the scientific projects carried out during the mission and presented by Gilles Bessero, Director of Monaco Explorations. The Minister for the Blue Economy, Mr Jean-François Ferrari and Mr Flavien Joubert, Minister for Agriculture, Climate Change and the Environment, were accompanied by the French Ambassador to the Seychelles, Olivia Berkeley-Christmann, the Honorary Consul of the Seychelles in Monaco, Jean-François Noaro and his wife, and Mr Bernard Georges, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Seychelles Islands Foundation (SIF). Dr Frauke Fleisher-Dogley, Director of the SIF, Ms Katrin Perchat, Coordinator of the TFO project and Ms Pascale Chabanet, Coordinator of the Pareo project, were also present. A group of students from the University of Seychelles, accompanied by Jérôme Harlay, teacher-researcher, also visited the ship during the morning.

From right to left, Minister Ferrari, French Ambassador to the Seychelles Olivia Berkeley-Christmann_Mrs Katrin Perchat, TFO Director_Mr Didier Zoccola, CSM. 29_10_2022. Port Victoria©Nicolas Mathys_Zeppelin_MonacoExplorations

From right to left, the Director Monaco Explorations Gilles Bessero, the Minister of the Blue Economy Jean-Francois FERRARI and the President of the Board of Directors of SIF, Bernard Georges. Port Victoria. 29_10_2022©Mathys_Nicolas_MonacoExplorations

Dr Frauke Fleisher (CEO SIF) explains to the students the work carried out in Aldabra in front of the rosette, surrounded by Céline Dimier (IMEV) in the foreground and Nuette Gordon, in the background, a Seychelles researcher on board the 2nd leg. Port Victoria. Seychelles_29_10_2022©Didier Théron_MonacoExplorations

The group of students from the University of Seychelles visiting the S.A. Agulhas II. Port Victoria. 29_10_2022©Didier Théron_MonacoExplorations

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The Pareo group from the Baie Ste-Anne school in Praslin, with the two artists Rémi Leroy and Elise Rigot. 29_10_2022©Nicolas Mathys_Zeppelin_MonacoExplorations

Tell me about the Indian Ocean. During the art workshop, Elise Rigot collects the sea stories of the children of the Baie Ste-Anne school in Pralin, involved in the Marine Education Area. Port Victoria. 29_10_2022©Nicolas Mathys_Zeppelin_MonacoExplorations.jpg

Adopt a Float workshop with the Perseverance Secondary School class. Hervé Claustre, in charge of the BGC Argo project, explains to these pupils who have adopted the float offered to the Seychelles by the Principality of Monaco and signed in Aldabra by Prince Albert II of Monaco.Port Victoria. 29_10_2022©Didier Théron_MonacoExplorations

The Seychelles Maritime Academy group on board the S.A. Agulahs II. Port Victoria. 31_10_2022©Nicolas Mathys_Zeppelin_MonacoExplorations

Students from Seychelles International School at the end of the plastics workshop conducted by the Madcaps team. Port Victoria. On the left, Magali Rocamora, a young Seychellois doctoral student present on the 1st leg of the expedition, supervised the groups all day. 31_10_2022©Nicolas Mathys_Zeppelin_MonacoExplorations

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A day dedicated to schools

On 31 October, the crew, the scientists and artists on board and Monaco Explorations team welcomed around 200 schoolchildren from many of the Seychelles islands on board. This was an opportunity for the organisers of this mission to showcase both an exploration ship and a scientific expedition through exchanges with the researchers, students and artists on board. This day was organised with the precious collaboration of the staff of the Seychelles Ministries of the Blue Economy, Environment and Education. The groups hosted: Baie Ste-Anne de Pralin School, Perseverance Secondary school, International School of Seychelles, La Digue Primary and secondary School, BeauVallon primary school, Anse Boileau Secondary School, Belonie Secondary School, Mont Fleuri Secondary School and the Seychelles Maritime Academy.

Corals leave the ship

The colonies collected in Aldabra and destined to be conserved in public aquariums within the framework of the World Coral Conservatory were transferred on 29 October to stabulation tanks installed in Mahé, before being sent to Europe. This operation marks a close scientific collaboration between the Seychelles, France and Monaco regarding the future of corals, a vital link in the biological balance of the oceans. Dominique Barthélémy, head of the Océanopolis Aquarium in Brest, and Olivier Brunel, head of the Aquarium at the Oceanographic Museum in Monaco, came to help the teams already on board with the logistics on site in Mahé and to prepare the shipment of the colonies by plane.

Organisation of transport with the Seychelles Fishing Authority. Before being shipped to European Aquariums, the colonies were placed in storage tanks in Mahé. Port Victoria_29_10_2022©Nicolas Mathys_Zeppelin_MonacoExplorations

Inspection of the Colonies by Dominique Barthelemy, Oceanopolis. Port Victoria_29_10_2022©Nicolas Mathys_Zeppelin_MonacoExplorations

Coral transport by Bruno Piguet, Oceanographic Institute of Monaco and Maurine Midol, Océanopolis Brest©Nicolas Mathys_Zeppelin_MonacoExplorations

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