Category / conservation / exploration / Eye of the Shoal

    Loading posts...

  • Dynamite Napoleons

    In this month’s BBC Wildlife Magazine I write about the amazing and endangered lives of Humphead Wrasse (aka Napoleon Wrasse).

    April 24, 2018
    conservation, exploration, Eye of the Shoal

  • Introducing the Wandering Ichthyologist

    Sign up now for my brand new newsletter

    March 27, 2016
    books, exploration

  • EYE OF THE SHOAL

    I’m very pleased to announce my follow up to SPIRALS IN TIME.

    February 16, 2016
    books, exploration

  • The Life Sub Aquatic. BBC Radio 4

    My radio documentary exploring the dream of living beneath the waves. Catch it again online.

    August 7, 2014
    exploration, radio

  • Gone fishing on BBC Radio 4’s Inside Science

    On BBC Radio 4’s Inside Science I go fishing in Fiji to find out how indigenous knowledge is helping to protect local sealife.

    June 27, 2014
    conservation, exploration, radio

  • Diving with bull sharks

    Hear more from my trip to Fiji in Outlook on the BBC World Service

    November 22, 2013
    exploration, radio

  • Visiting Aquarius

    I was in Florida Keys recently making a documentary for BBC Radio 4 and got to visit the amazing Aquarius Reef Base (the world’s only underwater research station).

    November 22, 2013
    exploration, radio

  • Explore 2013

    In November I’ll be speaking at the Royal Geographical Society’s annual expedition and fieldwork planning weekend in London. I’ll be offering advice on communicating your discoveries both during and after an expedition.

    October 6, 2013
    exploration, live show archive, live shows

  • Strolling through a village of paintings

    My latest report for Outlook on the BBC World Service comes from the Gambia where I took a stroll around a living street art gallery on the walls and houses of a remote village.

    September 8, 2013
    exploration, radio

  • Columbia University expedition to Fiji

    I’m thrilled to announce that in June 2013 I will be joining Dr Joshua Drew from Columbia University on a research expedition to Fiji.

    February 19, 2013
    exploration, outreach project archive, science

  • Into the oyster forest

    My latest report for BBC World Service’s Outlook features the incredible women who gather oysters from the mangrove forests around the River Gambia.

    February 15, 2013
    conservation, exploration, radio

  • Rain

    Yesterday I saw rain for the second time in 2 months. The first time was 6 weeks ago when there was a strange shower that lasted thirty seconds as we ate dinner…

    June 4, 2012
    exploration

  • The accidental birdwatcher

    As a marine biologist I consider myself to be a fish-watcher. Obviously it’s not the sort of thing you can do all the time; it generally requires a certain amount of being…

    May 30, 2012
    exploration

  • My fabric obsession

    I’ve tried to resist but it’s no use. When we leave West Africa in two weeks my bags will be laden with fabric. I should have guessed that I’d develop an unhealthy…

    May 22, 2012
    exploration

  • Dakar made mini

    I’ve been in Dakar for a week now and believe me, this is a city of contrasts. I’ve driven along smooth motorways with blue French signs and brand new peage tollbooths and…

    May 14, 2012
    exploration

  • Dust

    Philip Pulman had a lot to say about dust in his His Dark Materials trilogy but I suspect it’s not the same variety of dust that I’ve been getting to know lately.…

    May 6, 2012
    exploration

  • The world’s best oyster festival

    I’ve never been to an oyster festival before and I don’t imagine there are many quite like the one I went to a few days ago. This one involved a lot of…

    May 3, 2012
    exploration

  • Dead fish mystery solved

    Remember those dead fish on the beach getting munched by vultures that appeared in my first Gambian post? (some without heads?) Well, I’ve found out where they’re coming from. I met Chris,…

    April 26, 2012
    exploration

  • Sahelian riches

    For the past few days I’ve been paying my first visits to fishing communities here in the Gambia. I’ve met and chatted with my first fishermen; I’ve seen baskets of fish being…

    April 24, 2012
    exploration

  • On sand dollars and dead fish

    So here I am in the Gambia. It’s a country I hadn’t thought a great deal about until a few months ago. I didn’t know it takes the shape of a sliver…

    April 16, 2012
    exploration

  • Stuff

    One of the giveaway signs that we’re about to go on a long trip is the upswing in the amount of stuff being delivered to our house. In the past 5 days…

    April 9, 2012
    exploration

  • I’m going to West Africa

    In one week I will be in West Africa. It’ll be the first time I’ve visited sub Saharan Africa and I’m oh so very excited about it. It’ll be the first big…

    April 5, 2012
    exploration

  • My new favourite thing

    I recently paid my first visit to the Red Sea and discovered my new favourite thing: freediving. The idea of learning to freedive first came to me years ago when I was…

    October 8, 2011
    exploration

  • Seahorses with dangerous underwear

    Seahorses are masters of disguise. They really are. They can grow a coat of weedy sprouts and change their skin colour to seemlessly match their surroundings. No wonder a cuttlefish recently mistook…

    May 31, 2010
    exploration