Tanga Fisheries Analysis - IUCN

Figure 11 - Mean Annual CPUE (kg/gr/trip) for Changu Ngalawa/Mishipi 1996-2004 (with 90%
Confidence Intervals)
Mean Annual Catch Rate (Kg/Gr/Trip)
Ngalawa/Mishipi for Changu
Mean CPUE (kg/gr/trip)
4.00
3.50
3.00
2.50
2.00
1.50
1.00
0.50
0.00
Mar 96 -
Feb 97
Mar 97 -
Feb 98
Mar 98 -
Feb 99
Mar 99 -
Feb 00
Mar 00 -
Feb 01
Mar 01 -
Feb 02
Mar 02 -
Feb 03
Mar 03 -
Feb 04
Year
One is left therefore with a suggestion of a fairly constant, possibly increasing, CPUE (i.e. changu
resource abundance) over the duration of the Programme with a sudden increase in CPUE in
2003/04. But it is difficult to say much more than that in terms of the resource of changu as a whole
in the areas fished by this selection of fishers from Kigombe Village. Changu, as a group, are not
only caught by mishipi and so this analysis can only relate to the species (and particular ages of
those species) that comprise the resource of changu that is vulnerable to this particular vessel/gear
combination. Because the species in this broad group differ in their ecology and behaviour it is
likely that different species of changu will be vulnerable to different vessels/gears and/or at different
times of the year. For example, in similar small-scale coastal fisheries in neighbouring Kenya,
McClanahan and Mangi (2004) showed that Lethrinus harak comprised about 13% of the catch of
gillnet fishers, but a less significant 2-3% of the catch of fish-traps. Lethrinus sanguineus (~28%)
and Lethrinus mahsenoides (~27%) on the other hand were the dominant species in the catch of
mishipi fishers. So to say that changu have increased in abundance based on the evidence from
ngalawa/mishipi may only relate to certain species. Between 1995 and 2001 TCZCDP data only
records the single grouping of changu and so it is not possible to differentiate between Lethrinid
species over this time series of data in the same way that McClanahan and Mangi were able to
with their data.
7.2.2. Seasonal Variations in CPUE for Ngalawas using Mishipi
Figure 12 presents monthly CPUE data (with 90% confidence interval) for ngalawas using mishipi
to examine seasonal and monthly patterns and to glean other information about the fishery.
There is an apparent seasonality indicated by the data, which is particularly obvious in data
collected under the 1 st protocol. The CPUE typically has its peak around February-March of each
year, coinciding with calmer weather typically associated with North-East Monsoon (Kaskazi) and
its lowest values around May-June-July, coinciding with the period of cooler temperatures and
higher mean wind speeds associated with the South-East Trade Winds (Kusi). In fact the apparent
relationship is on the face of it very strong. There are three immediate candidates, firstly that the
local abundance of fish is higher during the warmer period of the Kaskazi due to the reported
increase in productivity levels associated with nutrient-rich currents flowing south (Sharp, 1983);
secondly, that catch-rates increase because of some change in catchability of the gear, in other
words, the fishing gears are more effective at catching fish during this period; or thirdly, the fishing
grounds that fishers can reach in the Kaskazi are more productive or have larger fish than those
they typically target during the Kusi. A fourth explanation concerns trip length: this is generally
probably longer during the Kaskazi than during Kusi (e.g. see Figure 8), and so the observed
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