Mobility, Expansion and Management of a Multi-Species Scuba Diving Fishery in East Africa

Background: Scuba diving fishing, predominantly targeting sea cucumbers, has been documented to occur in an uncontrolled manner in the Western Indian Ocean and in other tropical regions. Although this type of fishing generally indicates a destructive activity, little attention has been directed towards this category of fishery, a major knowledge gap and barrier to management. Methodology and Principal Findings: With the aim to capture geographic scales, fishing processes and social aspects the scuba diving fishery that operate out of Zanzibar was studied using interviews, discussions, participant observations and catch monitoring. The diving fishery was resilient to resource declines and had expanded to new species, new depths and new fishing grounds, sometimes operating approximately 250 km away from Zanzibar at depths down to 50 meters, as a result of depleted easy-access stock. The diving operations were embedded in a regional and global trade network, and its actors operated in a roving manner on multiple spatial levels, taking advantage of unfair patron-client relationships and of the insufficient management in Zanzibar. Conclusions and Significance: This study illustrates that roving dynamics in fisheries, which have been predominantly addressed on a global scale, also take place at a considerably smaller spatial scale. Importantly, while proposed management of the sea cucumber fishery is often generic to a simplified fishery situation, this study illustrates

Participatory appraisal for potential community-based mangrove management in East Africa

Mangroves are among the most threatened ecosystems in the world and the coastal forests of East Africa are no exception to this trend. Although conservation, rehabilitation and sustainable management plans have been developed in various tropical regions, only a few locally based approaches have been launched along the Indian Ocean coast of Africa. In order to identify possible conditions for sustainable management of mangroves based on socio-economic and ecological considerations, we present a participatory approach designed to evaluate the relationships between mangroves and human activities and the use of multi-criterion analysis to identify management solutions. To achieve this goal, all the subjects involved in mangrove management (local communities, institutions and researchers) took an active part in the process. The research was carried out in three communities relying on mangrove swamps: Kisakasaka village on the island of Zanzibar, Mida Creek in Kenya, both relying on mangrove forests known to be endangered by over-exploitation, and Inhaca Island in Mozambique, where mangroves are more pristine. Families were the hub of the research and the importance of each of their economic activities was assessed. We then examined the methods by which mangroves are exploited by the local community and by other stakeholders working in the study areas. Our results show that the mangroves in Inhaca are exploited only for household needs and the pressure on the forests is still ecologically sustainable. In contrast, there is a well-established demand for mangrove products in Kisakasaka and Mida Creek and the mangroves represent an essential source of income for the families, resulting in an ecologically unsustainable rate of exploitation. Therefore, possible alternatives to the current management practices were identified in the two areas by means of a participatory approach. Multi-criterion analysis was then used to compare and discuss the alternatives in terms of social, economic and ecological criteria.Link_to_subscribed_fulltex

Estimating the value of Goods and Services in a Marine Protected Area: The Case of Watamu Marine National Park and Reserve, Kenya

Présentation avec posterinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedHexennial International Conference ‘Meeting on Mangrove ecology, functioning and Management – MMM3’, 2-6 juillet, Galle, Sri Lank