Sat Aug 7: MARINE ECOSYSTEM HEALTH, ECONOMICS AND SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS

7:30 am: Breakfast

9:00-9:30 am: Welcome & Introduction to the Institute of Marine Sciences (IMS)

Instructor: Dr. Margareth S. Kyewalyanga, Director, IMS

Kyewalyanga described the activities of IMS and the general effect on the ecological, economic and social development of the coastal communities. The Institute has had a long history of interaction with both governments especially on policies and environmental assessment and more recently this has moved to local communities. A number of small-scale ecological and economic initiatives have been developed and some of these are in full-scale economic implications stage.

9:30 -10:30 am:  Water quality and Marine Pollution in Tanzania

Presenter: Aviti Mmochi, Lecturer, Physical and Environmental Marine Sciences, IMS

Mmochi highlighted the world status of water, definitions of water quality and marine pollution and the state of pollution in Tanzania. Case studies on the agricultural, sewage and tourism pollution in Zanzibar were presented.

 10:30 am: Tea

10:45 am – 11:45 am: Marine Mammal Talk

12:00 pm: Lunch Archipelago

 1:30-6:30 pm: We were given free time to go shopping

Instead of shopping, Nate (California), Andrea (Illinois), Colleen (Wisconsin), Tricia (Canada), and I decided to go scuba diving. It was a great choice. We got to do two dives and have a beautiful boat-ride along the coast. While underwater we saw numerous fish, coral, an octopus, sea cucumbers, and several nudibranch.

 7:00 pm: Dinner (Mercury’s)

Our scuba group met up with the shoppers at a nice restaurant on the water. While the food was good, the portions were quite small. Naturally, I decided to get some more food at Stone Town’s famous night market. I teamed up with Sukuman (Thailand) to try some of the more interesting dishes. We sampled octopus, crab, jellyfish, squid, and breadfruit. Surprisingly, the worst tasting item was the fruit! For dessert I had a banana and nutella pancake, it was delicious!

Evening: Once done at the night market I joined some of my fellow students at a local shisha bar to sample the local culture. We had a few drinks and chilled at the bar for a while before a small group of use decided to try the more energetic bar across the street from the hotel. It was a fun night.