A young Seychellois entrepreneur, Mariette Dine tells us what the Monaco Explorations mission to the Indian Ocean has brought her in terms of experience and the pursuit of her professional activities.
She is developing a project on the use of algae to manufacture bio-plastics.
Mariette’s projects are supported by the Seychelles Conservation and Climate Adaptation Trust (SeyCCAT). This organization invests strategically in ocean stakeholders to generate new learning, bold action and sustainable blue prosperity in Seychelles.
My first experience of a mission at sea.
My name is Mariette Dine.
I came on board as an independent contractor for the Seychelles Department of the Blue Economy.
This gave me the opportunity to take part in the second phase of the mission to study the Saya de Malha bank and Saint Brandon.
The Monaco Explorations mission to the Indian Ocean was a great opportunity for me and the other Seychellois participants to take part in marine research on the Mascarene Plateau.
This enabled me to strengthen my skills and knowledge of algae specimens, under the supervision of Professor Line Le Gall, botanist and director of scientific expeditions at the Museum national d’Histoire naturelle in Paris, Dr Lydianne Mattio and Dr Jeanne Mortimer from the University of Seychelles, in charge of the Seychelles National Herbarium.
Students and young researchers and entrepreneurs from Seychelles and Mauritius aboard the S.A. Agulhas II, with Francis Marsac, coordinator of scientific operations on the Saya de Malha shoal.
Indian Ocean Mission.17_11_2022©Sundy Ramah_MonacoExplorations
Mariette Dine with the ROV team©MonacoExplorations
Line Le Gall, MNHN and Mariette Dine ©Mariette Dine_MonacoExplorations
A participatory application launched by Mariette Dine to help group together photos of seaweed species collected during the mission.
Mariette Dine_MonacoExplorations
Knowledge transfer and training on board©Mariette Dine_MonacoExplorations
New species to be added to the Seychelles national herbarium.
Saya de Malha.
Indian Ocean Mission©Didier Théron_MonacoExplorations
I’m grateful to have had the chance to learn from the various projects on board, such as the coral physiological studies led by Dr. Ranjeet Baghooli from Mauritius. Ranjeet Baghooli from Mauritius, which focus on fluorescence measurements of various coral species, sponges and algal specimens such as the green alga Caulerpa.
The methodologies I learned and observed on board the ship will be very useful to me and will inspire me for my current and future projects, whether it be the works of art of the artists on board or the beauty of the specimens collected by Laure Corbari, Line Le Gall and her team, not forgetting Ms Florence Galletti for her interesting point of view on the law of the sea and its links with our work.
Mariette Dine
Entrepreneur.
Graduate of the University of Seychelles in Marine Sciences and Sustainability.