BRIDGES mission to Mayotte: three days of discussions with local scientific stakeholders
From October 5 to 9, Rodolphe Devillers and Stéphanie Mahévas (BRIDGES focal points for Mayotte), Quentin Schull (leader of the BRIDGES RESILIENCE targeted project), and Sarah Bareigts (scientific coordination support) visited Mayotte.
The aim of the mission was to discuss with Mayotte’s scientific stakeholders their work and ongoing projects, their vision, and avenues for collaboration with BRIDGES in the coming years.
At the heart of the approach was the creation of an open space for dialogue to better understand how BRIDGES can best link up with existing initiatives and respond to local challenges.
Mission program
The team discussed fishing and conservation matters in Mayotte with the Marine Nature Park. They then met with the director of the Maritime Academy (Ecole d’Apprentissage Maritime) to discuss training and professions related to fishing.
On the second day, BRIDGES held a meeting bringing together a wide range of key players in environmental knowledge and management in Mayotte. The following organizations were represented:
- The Maritime Academy,
- The Mahoran Federation of Environmental Associations (Fédération Mahoraise des Associations Environnementales – FMAE),
- Mayotte Nature Environment (Mayotte Nature Environnement),
- The Naturalists of Mayotte (Les Naturalistes de Mayotte),
- The Mayotte Integrated Innovation Cluster (Pôle d’Innovation Intégré de Mayotte – PI2M),
- The Mahoran Professional Fishermen’s Maritime Union (Syndicat Maritime des Pêcheurs Professionnels Mahorais),
- And the University of Mayotte.
Dedicated discussion sessions with researchers from the University of Mayotte
BRIDGES benefits from the very active participation of lecturers and researchers from the University of Mayotte. The afternoon was devoted to a working meeting with those who were able to attend: Aline Aubry, Claire Gollety, Matthieu Jeanson, Matthieu Le Duff, Rakamaly Madi Moussa, Georgeta Stoica, and Elliott Sucré.
Discussions focused in particular on:
- Research projects already underway on the island,
- The future Master’s degree offered by the University of Mayotte, which will begin in 2027,
- Field schools that will train students in field issues,
- PhD opportunities funded by BRIDGES starting in 2026.
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Last day: artisanal fishing
On Thursday, the BRIDGES team continued the mission with some time spent in the field:
- Fishing landing in Chiconi,
- Meeting with SIH investigators in Sada,
- Discussions with Ambidine Abdallah, a fisherman in Sada.
BRIDGES would like to thank all those we met for their availability, their contributions, and the quality of the discussions. New stages of work will be undertaken in the coming months, in close collaboration with local stakeholders.
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