Ressources halieutiques potentielles et propositions d’adaptation aux variabilités climatiques dans l’extrême Sud de Madagascar

The deep southern Madagascar is very reputed by the succession of famines – kere, that lead the death of people and livestock in that region. Those famines are due to repetitive droughts that occur periodically caused by climate variability in that area. We have conducted socio-economic assessment within three fishermen villages to better understand the life style of the southern coastal community. Then, traditional fishing survey has been undertaken to better understand and identify the characteristics of fishing activities and identify the main potential resources. Thus, a simple assessment of the climate variability was directed to well apprehend the climate risks and to have an overview on the community vulnerability. Socio-economic assessment results shown that fishing activity plays an important role in the southern coastal community livelihood and its development will contribute a lot to improve food security. The fishing survey results let us to conclude that the southern Madagascar still has lots of resources that are less exploited – except lobsters and shellfish. Lobsters and big pelagic and demersal fishes constitute the potential halieutic resources. The main climate risk is the drought – since 1896 till 2014, 14 droughts episodes have occurred and caused 14 kere. For a better climate variability adaptation, the development of the fishing activity will enhance fishermen adaptation capacity and resilience and improve the food security in whole. A deep assessment of the southern Madagascar upwelling system and the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) is recommended to well apprehend their characteristics as they are linked to the upcoming of drought.L’extrême sud de Madagascar est très réputé par la succession des famines – kere, qui a provoqué des pertes des vies humaines et des bétails dans cette région. Ces famines sont causées par les sécheresses répétitives qui se produisent périodiquement à cause des variabilités climatiques dans cette partie de l’Ile. Nous avons mené une étude socio-économique auprès des trois villages de pêcheurs pour mieux comprendre le style de vie des communautés du littoral sud malagasy. En outre, des activités de suivi de pêche traditionnelle ont été entreprises afin de mieux comprendre et d’identifier les caractéristiques des activités de pêche et d’identifier les principales ressources halieutiques potentielles. Ainsi, une étude simple des variabilités climatiques a été effectuée pour mieux appréhender les risques climatiques et pour avoir un aperçu sur la vulnérabilité des communautés. Les résultats de l’étude socio-économique ont montré que la pêche joue un rôle important dans la subsistance des communautés du littoral sud et son développement contribuera énormément à l’amélioration de la sécurité alimentaire dans la région. Les résultats de suivis de pêche nous ont permis de conclure que le sud de Madagascar dispose encore d’énormes ressources qui sont sous-exploitées – sauf la langouste et le coquillage. La langouste et les gros poissons pélagiques et démersaux constituent les ressources halieutiques potentielles. Le principal risque climatique est la sécheresse – depuis 1896 jusqu’en 2014, 14 épisodes de sécheresse se sont produites et ont entraîné 14 kere. Pour une meilleure adaptation aux variabilités climatiques, le développement des activités de pêche renforcera la capacité d’adaptation et de résilience des pêcheurs et améliora la sécurité alimentaire en général. Une étude approfondie de l’upwelling sud malagasy et le dipôle de l’océan indien (IOD) est également recommandée pour mieux comprendre leurs caractéristiques car ces phénomènes sont liés à la survenue de sécheresse dans le sud

Local perceptions of environmental changes in fishing communities of southwest Madagascar:

Southwest Madagascar is a region that is significantly impacted upon by climate change. As in a lot of developing countries, the livelihoods of many communities in this region are dependent on fishing. This makes these communities particularly vulnerable to climate-related changes. We conducted a survey in two coastal fishing communities in the Toliara Province, Ambola and Ambotsibotsike. Using a free listing exercise, semi-structured interviews and focus group methods, we documented local perceptions of environmental changes and responses to changes. Results were compared, taking into account the differences in the degree of remoteness, market exposure and religiosity. Time periods that respondents reported as having had a high degree of change were compared to time periods of historical records of cyclones occurring in Toliara Province

Perceived benefits of fisheries management restrictions in Madagascar

Perceptions of the benefits of fisheries management restrictions were evaluated in coastal Madagascar to identify restrictions that are likely to be self- and community enforced. The survey focused on 24 Malagasy fishing villages adjacent to coral reefs. Resource users' perceptions of the benefits of restrictions were generally high and widespread, but some less positive perceptions were found in three villages located near marine protected areas. Perceptions of the benefits of gear restrictions had widespread support; closed areas, seasons, and minimum sizes of fish were less common; and restrictions on species were supported infrequently. We therefore advocate a management implementation approach that uses these scales of perceived benefits and prioritizes support for the most widely accepted restrictions most broadly, with the less accepted restrictions matched to specific supportive locations. At the village level, socioeconomic and wealth variables were not clearly associated with perceived benefits, which we suggest results from a stronger influence of village history than socioeconomic conditions. At the individual fisher level, however, there was evidence that experienced people involved in decision-making, having livelihood alternatives, and having permanent housing had more opinions and frequently were more supportive of management restrictions. Incorporating this information into forums and management plans is expected to increase the rate of adoption and compliance with needed fisheries restrictions

A review of marine invertebrates used as fishing baits and the implications for national and regional management in the Western Indian Ocean

In the Western Indian Ocean (WIO), more than 76 records from peer-reviewed and grey literature identified approximately 60 invertebrate taxa harvested for bait and food. The most diverse phyla were Mollusca, followed by Arthropoda and Annelida, with few records of Porifera, Nemertea and Echinodermata. Importance of each phylum differs according to country, with arthropods (Upogebia africana and Kraussillichirus kraussi), and annelids (Marphysa mossambica) being most important in South Africa and Kenya, respectively. Of the taxa utilised, only 42 are reliably identified to species level, suggesting that the diversity of species utilised in the region is greatly underestimated. Most of the data on biology and exploitation were for species from South Africa. Less data were available from Kenya with minimal to none being available from the remaining WIO countries. This limits the understanding of biology and trends in exploitation of most bait taxa, and consequently information required for developing national and regional management policies. Bait management guidelines are available only for South Africa, but require updating in view of changes in use of bait resources. We recommend the development of coordinated multidisciplinary, multicountry research aimed at increasing data and information to feed into policy development and support national and regional bait resource management