Lagoon Monitoring Intern, Mauritius

The Blue Lagoon and Coral Reef Monitoring programme focuses on the protection, preservation and restoration of the marine and coastal environment in the Blue Bay and Pointe d’Esny regions of Mauritius.  The island is an important place for ocean conservation.  Alongside a Mauritian NGO, volunteers and interns work to protect natural resources from threats of pollution and destruction.  These often come as a consequence of inconsiderate development and lack of awareness on the island.

As the Lagoon Monitoring Project Coordinator/Assistant your primary duties will include:

• Leading a team of volunteers. These volunteers will need to be trained to conduct transect surveys within the region.
• Recording the abundance and diversity of fish assemblages at a number of monitoring sites.
• Monitoring changes to the benthic community over time. This data will then need to be entered into our coral and fish monitoring database, which you will also be responsible for maintaining.
• Monitoring levels of illegal fishing activity in the region. This means conducting patrols along the coastline and on the water and reporting your sightings to the local coast guard.

You will be responsible for the running and maintenance of the boat that you use.  You will need to coordinate with one of our boat captains to arrange your surveying.  To be suitable for this position you should be a good swimmer, snorkeller and have a keen interest in conservation.

You will also have the opportunity to be involved in the other important activities that all volunteers are involved within the Blue Lagoon.  You can also look forward to getting hands-on with beach cleaning, coral farming, mangrove planting, sea turtle monitoring and local community projects!

Location

Mauritius is, with La Réunion and Rodrigues, an island in the Mascarene Archipelago, located in the Indian Ocean at approximately 2000 km off the coast of Africa and 900 km from Madagascar. Set on a breathtaking lagoon, the volunteer project is situated in Pointe d’Esny, on the South East coast of Mauritius. Mahébourg is a colourful and lively town, steeped in Mauritian history.

Accommodation

For this volunteer project in Mauritius, lodging is primarily situated around the area of Pointe D’Esny. The nearest town, Mahebourg, is 20 minutes away by public transport. A welcome tour will be given by one of our staff upon arrival in order to provide you with general knowledge of the area.

This is a part of an NGO and non-profit organisation. For that reason, interns do not receive a monthly salary or allowance. Interns have to provide (but can be assisted in finding) their own accommodation and transport and will have to pay their own food and living costs.

You should bring your own beach towel. Internet is available for volunteers to use at the office (on the top floor) and you can use the office PC after work hours. We would advise you to bring your own phone, while a sim card can be obtained at a cost. There are local restaurants and eateries very close by and you can locally purchase food to cook your meals. Did you know, seafood is a staple of Mauritian cuisine, which has Asian, Indian, French and British influences?

Internship Positions General Required skills/qualifications

Must be familiar with Microsoft Excel and Word.
Must have strong swimming skills.
Must be able to work both independently and in a team.
Must get a student visa (we can provide information on how to do this. If you are currently a student and you can stay up to 5 months, and if not, a tourist visa lasts for up to 3 months max).

Project Dates

Internships last between 2 and 5 months, with volunteers able to join at any time throughout the year.