An assessment of local fisheries in Diego-Suarez Bay, Madagascar

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The artisanal fishery in Diego-Suarez Bay, north Madagascar is an active fishery where fishermen use multiple methods based on traditional techniques. Prior to this study there has been virtually no documented assessment of fishing activity within the bay. A total of forty fishermen from two important fishing villages were interviewed on fishing practices, fishing habits, economic considerations, local perceptions on fish stocks, temporal changes and environmental awareness. Interview data was complemented with a direct investigation of reef health with respect to hard coral cover and fish stocks. The fishery targets multiple families of reef and reef associated fish as well as invertebrates. Carangidae, Lutjanidae and Mullidae were the most common fish families targeted, using five principal fishing techniques; hook and line, gill nets, seine nets, spear guns and traps. There was a significant difference in the catch sizes and the types of fishing gear used between the two villages surveyed. Catch size and fish abundance was reported by the fishermen to have decreased in recent years. Fishermen opinions ranged on the cause of this decrease, with no universal outstanding answer given. The most likely explanation lies in increased pressure on marine resources caused by the current steady rise in the local population and increasing tourism. Although the fishery is not currently in a bad state, productivity and sustainability could be improved through education of locals and simple management strategies. The bay offers a good opportunity for proactive conservation programmes to be implemented before large scale problems start to become manifest. 2
1 Introduction Since ancient times, fish have constituted a major source of food for humans and fishing has provided employment and economic benefits to those engaged in this activity. The wealth of marine resources was once assumed to be an unlimited gift of nature. However through increased knowledge and the dynamic development of fisheries science post Second World War, this myth has faded in face of the realisation that aquatic resources, although renewable, are not infinite and need appropriate management (Keenleyside, 1997; Pauly, 2008). Fishing is widely recognised as having a major influence on marine ecosystems throughout the world. Industrial fishing has been well documented to cause serious habitat degradation through benthic dredging and trawling (Watling & Norse, 1998) and over-exploitation of species (Myers et al., 1997). Artisanal fisheries, by comparison, operate on a smaller scale and tend to be associated with relatively low environmental impacts (Hawkins & Roberts, 2004; Dalzell, 1998). These fisheries are near-shore and exploited by small-scale fishers using labour intensive methods with little or no modern technology. Typically the people carrying out these activities are part-time, subsistence fishers who use a multiple of fishing techniques to target multiple species. In the Pacific, artisanal fisheries have been documented to have had no significant impact on the state of coral reef ecosystems despite constant use over the last thousand years (Dalzell, 1998). However, this finding is contradicted by numerous other studies highlighting the negative impacts artisanal fisheries can have on reef systems and fish biomass (e.g. Adam et al., 1997; Colbentz, 1997). Despite their perceived impacts, artisanal fisheries are especially important in developing countries, throughout the tropics in particular. An estimated annual yield of six million tonnes per year is harvested from tropical coral reefs (Munro, 1996), indicating their importance for local peoples. Few methodological modifications have been implemented in the world’s artisanal fisheries over the last few centuries; the introduction of motorised boats and modern materials (such as nylon filament lines and artificial bait) being the main changes (Hawkins & Roberts, 2004). What has changed, however, is the increase in the number of people being supported by these fisheries. The number of artisanal fisheries in developing countries has increased significantly in recent years, driven by increasing coastal populations (FAO 2000). Documented impacts include the reduction in life expectancies of certain specie s (Munro, 1983), elimination of species from reef areas (Wells, 1997), long-term reef degradation (Ginsburg et al., 1994) and the mass depletion in targeted genera (Koslow et al., 1994). Typical of many subsistence and traditional forms of renewable resource use, over-exploitation can result in irreversible economic, social and cultural harm to the very people causing the damage (Tundi, 2000). Diego-Suarez Bay, situated in the far north of Madagascar, has a thriving fishing industry about which little is known. The bay has numerous sub-bays, which present a range of tropical habitats (coral reef, sea grass and mangrove). These habitats are an important resource and support neighbouring villages with reef fisheries. Artisanal fishing methods using traditional techniques with modern material are used daily throughout the bay. Due to a variety of terrestrial and anthropogenic influences the bay exhibits a wide range in the quality of its reefs, in terms of coral cover, fish diversity and fish biomass. This report assesses the state of the fishery, through describing the methods and materials used by the fishermen, gaining local opinion, identifying environmental impacts, and assessing catch data. We recommend that proactive conservation programmes should be implemented to ensure the sustainability of the local fisheries. 3
Page 1: Frontier Madagascar Environmental R
Page 4 and 5: Suggested Technical Paper citation:
Page 6 and 7: ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This report is the
Page 10 and 11: 2 Methods and Materials 2.1 Survey
Page 12 and 13: 3 Results 3.1 Socio-economic data P
Page 14 and 15: ut the majority of fishermen do not
Page 16 and 17: Table 3. Fishermen’s opinion on r
Page 18 and 19: Mean number of fish 14 12 10 8 6 4
Page 20 and 21: either poisonous to eat (in the cas
Page 22 and 23: 4 Discussion 4.1 Socio-economic and
Page 24 and 25: elieved that the size has decreased
Page 26 and 27: Identifying where the main fishing
Page 28 and 29: 6 References Adam, M.S., Anderson,
Page 30 and 31: Appendices Sample Questionnaire Fis

An assessment of local fisheries in Diego-Suarez Bay, Madagascar

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