Programme storyHeshimu Bahari was awarded to ASUTA in three components: BES Northern (1st), then BES Southern (2nd), and finally Community Based Activities (3rd). This dispatch belongs to the BES Southern component.
01
Scope of the southern leg
The BES Southern award is three times larger than BES Northern by area. The team is extending the same grid protocol across Kibiti, Kilwa, Mafia and Lindi — including parts of the Mafia Island Marine Park buffer.
02
Logistics on a different scale
Vessel days, fuel, dive safety and storage of imagery all step up. Two field crews now rotate, and a dedicated data officer is embedded in Kilwa to keep the pipeline moving.
03
Why it matters for what comes next
The southern coast is where the community-based component (award three) will be most active. Doing the science first means BMU dialogues there will be evidence-led from day one.
Same protocol, three times the area — the south coast joins the same evidence base as the north.
Key takeaway
BES Southern scales the survey to the seascape where the community-based work will land — by design, not by accident.