[2] In 1982 she began a programme of research into seaweed cultivation in Zanzibar; its application resulted in greater investment in the industry providing a wider range of employment, especially for women.

[8] These included a Fulbright Scholarship to the University of South Florida in 1982, where she undertook a research project entitled "Analysis of Certain Marine Phycocolloids".

[9] She was the recipient in 1992 of a Pew Trust Fellowship, which she used to undertake a major study on the Bagamoyo area, incorporating marine sources, socio-economic statistics and other factors.

[7] At the time of her death, Semesi was Director of the Institute of Marine Sciences of the University of Dar es Salaam.

[1] Her death was described in Pwani Yetu: The Newsletter of the Tanzania Coastal Management Partnership as a "great misfortune for marine conservation".