This month, a U.S. State Department delegation visited Cabo Verde.
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution senior scientist and director of WHOI SeaGrant Matt Charette went on the trip to work on building collaborative relationships between ocean scientists in Cabo Verde and Cape Cod.
CAI's Gilda Geist spoke with Charette about how his visit went.
Gilda Geist So you were in Cabo Verde recently with a delegation put together by the U.S. State Department. When were you there and what was the goal of the trip?
Matt Charette I traveled with a State Department delegation, called a Pod Partnership Opportunity delegation in early October of this year. And the goal of the trip was to forge partnerships between U.S. private organizations and those in Cape Verde.
GG Had you been to Cabo Verde before?
MC I had never visited the islands before.
GG Any initial reactions or anything that stood out to you while you were there?
MC It was a beautiful country. We visited three of the 10 islands. I learned that the 10 islands equal the area of Rhode Island, but they're spread out across the size of Texas. So they're very much an ocean nation, and so I think it was a very fitting partnership opportunity. The oceans are a very important part of their identity and their economy as well.
GG How did you come to be involved in all this?
MC So for that, we have to go back a few years to a really exciting and fortuitous Zoom call. The co-founder of the Cape Cod Cape Verde and Museum Barbara Burgo and folks from the Sea Grant program that I run met with her to talk about how we might forge a connection [with] the Cape Verdean community here in Massachusetts.
GG Cape Cod and Cabo Verde are both coastal communities. How can they learn from and help each other?
MC Right, so we share a lot of common challenges between Cape Cod and Cape Verde, largely in the areas of sustainable fisheries. Also marine debris and coastal erosion issues.
GG What's next? What kinds of plans did you and your colleagues make in terms of cooperative oceanographic research between Cabo Verde and Cape Cod?
MC So while we were there, we met with several of the marine science departments at the local universities. Also an ocean research center in Mindelo. And so the hope is that we can develop collaborations between Cape Verdean scientists and scientists at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution to study the oceans in and around Cape Verde. It's a very important part of the ocean. It's where a lot of the hurricanes form in the Atlantic Ocean. And also there is a lot of interesting biodiversity and coastal research issues that need to be addressed in that area.
GG Is there anything else you want to add about your trip or anything you think our listeners would want to know about your trip?
MC There are a lot of interesting things I learned about Cape Verdean culture and Cape Verdeans in general. In particular, I learned that there are more Cape Verdeans living abroad than in the country itself. And so those diaspora are a very important part of Cape Verde. I believe we have here in Massachusetts one of the largest of those populations of Cape Verdeans living outside of the country, and so I was very happy to be a part of the delegation for that reason and maybe try to bring the two together along scientific lines.
Check out this virtual exhibit on the WHOI Sea Grant website to learn more about the connections between Cape Cod and Cabo Verde.
