Proceedings of the Untangled symposium: - WSPA

Annex 4Submitted abstracts accompanyingposter presentationsnot peculiar to the above mentioned communities alonebut typifies most coastal communities in Lagos exceptionof few privately owned beaches.The Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA)has commenced a new initiative at the Bar-beach byproviding large bags to their staff stationed on theBar-beach for waste collection, when these bags arefull they are deposited safely on the beach barrierfor onward collection by LAWMA trucks. Though thisreduces the volume of litter on this particular beachhowever lots of debris is still washed up on our beachesduring storm surges which is becoming more commonwith Climate change.Though LAWMA’s initiative is quite laudable however theinitiative should be extended to include other beachesalong the Lagos Coast. There is need for concertedefforts to tackle marine litter menace by Increasinglyupdating information on the significance of the problemamongst coastal communities, beach users, maritimeorganizations, government and shipping industriesthrough research, awareness campaigns and beachclean ups.Key words: Plastic litter, sea birds, Marine turtles,LAWMAMonitoring and reducing the impact of ‘ghost’ fishingby derelict fishing trapscrabs during the winter months was closed affectingcommercial fishers who held current dredge licenses.A program involving cooperation between regulatoryagency personnel, commercial fishers, and scientistswas developed to provide supplemental income forfishers and help in restoring the stressed fishery.Commercial fishers were trained on the use of side-scanimaging units and employed to remove derelict fishinggear, mostly lost crab pots, during the winter. Integratingthe commercial fishers into the planning and adaptivemanagement component of the plan helped boostfishers’ trust of the regulatory agency and the scientiststo overcome the inherent reluctance of the regulatedcommunity to productively engage. Commercial fisherswere able to earn income and removed over 32,000items of derelict fishing gear that directly affects the bluecrab fishery. By-catch was recorded for every piece ofremoved fishing gear, providing data on the winter catchof crabs, fish, terrapins, and several other organisms inderelict fishing gear and over 30,000 entrapped animalswere recorded over the project period. The resulting datahas been useful for various research projects, includinga Diamondback Terrapin habitat study. Through thispartnership, scientists were able to develop and testa biodegradable component to the crab pot, whichreduces the amount of by-catch from future lost orabandoned pots. Early engagement of stakeholders andcontinual dialog are important for natural resourceco-management success.Kirk J. Havens, Donna Marie Bilkovic, David Stanhope,Kory AngstadtCenter for Coastal Resources ManagementVirginia Institute of Marine Science, College of Williamand Mary, Post Office Box 1346, Gloucester Point,Virginia 23062, USAkirk@vims.eduThe blue crab, Callinectes sapidus, is a significanteconomic and ecologic driver in estuarine systems. In therecent years, harvest of blue crabs has dipped to historiclows. Virginia and Maryland responded to low harvestsby enacting a number of conservation measures. In theCommonwealth of Virginia, the practice of dredging for45