BBC Wildlife - UK (2020-04)

28 BBC Wildlife April 2020

WILDNEWS

Wecelebratethelife

ofagiedecologist

whokickstartedan

importantmarine

megafaunastudy

inaWestAfrican

archipelago.

MEET THE SCIENTIST

I

n July2019,MarAlliance’s

CaboVerdecountry

co-ordinatorZeddySeymour

tragicallydied,aged32,while

spearfishingofftheislandof

Sal,CaboVerde.“Zeddywas

surprisinglypositivewithregardto

theworkthathewasdoing,at a time

whenmanyofthemessagesinthe

mediacanberathergloomy,”says

hisfather,NicholasSeymour.“He

highlightedtheneedfora Marine

ProtectedAreainCaboVerde.”

MarAlliancewasformedin 2014

byzoologistDrRachelGrahamto

improvetheunderstandingand

conservationofthreatenedmarine

speciesandtheirhabitatsat a

grassrootslevelbyusingscientific

studytosupportitsmanagement

workandengagewithlocal

communities.It hasbasesinfour

countriesandoperatesinseven.

Grahamwasimmediately

impressedbyUniversityofExeter

conservationandbiodiversityMasters

studentSeymourwhenheworked

withherforhisthesisin2012:“He

wentaboveandbeyondandwas

passionateaboutsharks.”

In2015,Seymourbeganthe

firstlargestudyofsharksinCabo

VerdeforMarAlliancearoundthe

islandsofBoavista,MaioandSal,

whileimprovingtheunderstanding

andconservationoftheseanimals

withfishers,studentsanddecision-

makers.“I taughthimhowto

catchandsatellitetagsharks,”says

Graham. “He went on to gather vital

thebayduringthiscriticalpartof

theirdevelopmentandpresentedthe

casefora MarineProtectedArea.

Thenurseryalsosupportsan

octopusfishery:“Zeddyembraced

theMarAllianceethosofworking

withtraditionalfishersand

fisheries,”saysGraham.“Heand

fishercommunityco-ordinatorZe

LuisMonteirocontributedtothe

NationalPlanofActionforSharks

ingovernmentmeetings.”Fishing

canoftenbehigherinnurserysites

duetotheirproximitytotownsand

cities,andsharksareparticularly

vulnerabletogettingcaughtingear.

Seymour’sworkcontinues

undertheleadershipofcountry

co-ordinatorCintiaLimaand

researchofficerFrancescoGarzon.

“Wearetryingtogetthebay

declaredasa protectedarea

andimplementa no-take

zoneforjuvenile

sharksandoctopus

toallowpopulations

torecover,”says

Graham.“Wedon’t

waittopublisha

scientificpaper

beforewestarttaking

action.”Jo Price

ZeddySeymourgathered

vitalinformationon

whalesharksandmanta

rays in West Africa.

S

T

informationonwhalesharksand

mantaraysinWestAfrica.”

EasternCaboVerdeis a hotspot

formarinebiodiversitythough

manyspecieslackthescientific

datanecessarytounderpineffective

managementwhilethreatsfrom

fisheriesandcoastaldevelopment

continuetorise.Surveysconducted

bySeymourandhiscolleagues

revealpatternsofdiversityand

distribution,highlightingcritical

foragingandnurseryhabitats.

Oneparticularnursery

areaheidentifiedis used

byseveralsharkspecies,

includingtheCritically

Endangeredscalloped

hammerheadand

regionallyendemic

Atlanticweasel.The

conservationistdiscovered

how young sharks used

MarAlliance

projectsin

CaboVerde:

maralliance.

org/project-

briefs

Zeddy Seymour and shark tagging: MarAlliance; whale shark: Rachel Graham/MarAlliance

FINDOUT

MORE

Zeddy Seymour

Former Cabo Verde country co-ordinator, MarAlliance

ZeddySeymour(left) satellite

tagsa tigershark.Below:he

beganstudyingwhalesharks

in Cabo Verde in 2015.