Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • Community Centred Conservation (C3) Socioeconomic Drivers of Sea Turtle Interactions With Artisanal Fisheries in The Western Indian Ocean Islands

    Uploaded by

    C3publications
    3K views19 pages
    Bycatch is a global threat to sea turtles with artisanal fisheries posing particular challenges in terms of data collection, monitoring and mitigation strategies. Due to the decentralized nature of artisanal fisheries, limited infrastructure for research and monitoring in developing countries, and logistical obstacles to establishing observer programs, collecting data on bycatch through interviews is recognized as a practical method for estimating the magnitude of bycatch in artisanal fisheries We conducted over 1000 rapid assessment surveys of sea turtle bycatch in artisanal fisheries of the Union of the Comoros, Mauritius and Madagascar in the Western Indian Ocean using semi-structured interviews of fishers. Bycatch was found to pose a serious threat to sea turtle populations. It was reported as a routine occurrence by fishers in Madagascar and Comoros in a variety of fishing gears, particularly gillnets in Madagascar and longlines in Comoros and Mauritius. Although turtles were often released alive, mortality was generally high and turtles were often killed and eaten or sold in Comoros and Madagascar. Various local traditions and taboos were also found to influence artisanal fishers' interactions with sea turtles at all study sites. The heterogeneity of gears used by artisanal fishers, and the potential for sea turtle bycatch in a variety of gear types indicated by this work suggests that mitigating turtle bycatch in artisanal fisheries in the western Indian Ocean requires close collaboration with fishing communities including capacity-building and awareness raising to ensure that management actions are implemented effectively. Addressing the impacts of these fisheries on sea turtles will require examination of the potential for alternative livelihoods and locally- enforced regulations. These results demonstrate the deep human roots of fisheries interactions with sea turtles that must be understood for effective management and conservation.

    Original Title

    Community Centred Conservation (C3) Socioeconomic Drivers of Sea Turtle Interactions with Artisanal Fisheries in the Western Indian Ocean Islands

    Copyright

    © Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)

    Available Formats

    PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    Report this Document
    Bycatch is a global threat to sea turtles with artisanal fisheries posing particular challenges in terms of data collection, monitoring and mitigation strategies. Due to the decentralized nature of artisanal fisheries, limited infrastructure for research and monitoring in developing countries, and logistical obstacles to establishing observer programs, collecting data on bycatch through interviews is recognized as a practical method for estimating the magnitude of bycatch in artisanal fisheries We conducted over 1000 rapid assessment surveys of sea turtle bycatch in artisanal fisheries of the Union of the Comoros, Mauritius and Madagascar in the Western Indian Ocean using semi-structured interviews of fishers. Bycatch was found to pose a serious threat to sea turtle populations. It was reported as a routine occurrence by fishers in Madagascar and Comoros in a variety of fishing gears, particularly gillnets in Madagascar and longlines in Comoros and Mauritius. Although turtles were often released alive, mortality was generally high and turtles were often killed and eaten or sold in Comoros and Madagascar. Various local traditions and taboos were also found to influence artisanal fishers' interactions with sea turtles at all study sites. The heterogeneity of gears used by artisanal fishers, and the potential for sea turtle bycatch in a variety of gear types indicated by this work suggests that mitigating turtle bycatch in artisanal fisheries in the western Indian Ocean requires close collaboration with fishing communities including capacity-building and awareness raising to ensure that management actions are implemented effectively. Addressing the impacts of these fisheries on sea turtles will require examination of the potential for alternative livelihoods and locally- enforced regulations. These results demonstrate the deep human roots of fisheries interactions with sea turtles that must be understood for effective management and conservation.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    Download as pdf or txt
    3K views19 pages

    Community Centred Conservation (C3) Socioeconomic Drivers of Sea Turtle Interactions With Artisanal Fisheries in The Western Indian Ocean Islands

    Uploaded by

    C3publications
    Bycatch is a global threat to sea turtles with artisanal fisheries posing particular challenges in terms of data collection, monitoring and mitigation strategies. Due to the decentralized nature of artisanal fisheries, limited infrastructure for research and monitoring in developing countries, and logistical obstacles to establishing observer programs, collecting data on bycatch through interviews is recognized as a practical method for estimating the magnitude of bycatch in artisanal fisheries We conducted over 1000 rapid assessment surveys of sea turtle bycatch in artisanal fisheries of the Union of the Comoros, Mauritius and Madagascar in the Western Indian Ocean using semi-structured interviews of fishers. Bycatch was found to pose a serious threat to sea turtle populations. It was reported as a routine occurrence by fishers in Madagascar and Comoros in a variety of fishing gears, particularly gillnets in Madagascar and longlines in Comoros and Mauritius. Although turtles were often released alive, mortality was generally high and turtles were often killed and eaten or sold in Comoros and Madagascar. Various local traditions and taboos were also found to influence artisanal fishers' interactions with sea turtles at all study sites. The heterogeneity of gears used by artisanal fishers, and the potential for sea turtle bycatch in a variety of gear types indicated by this work suggests that mitigating turtle bycatch in artisanal fisheries in the western Indian Ocean requires close collaboration with fishing communities including capacity-building and awareness raising to ensure that management actions are implemented effectively. Addressing the impacts of these fisheries on sea turtles will require examination of the potential for alternative livelihoods and locally- enforced regulations. These results demonstrate the deep human roots of fisheries interactions with sea turtles that must be understood for effective management and conservation.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 19

    Socioeconomic Drivers of Sea Turtle Interactions with Artisanal Fisheries in the Western Indian Ocean Islands

    Chris Poonian1 and Tara Whitty2


    1Community
    2Scripps

    Centred Conservation (C3), 17 Northcliffe Drive, London, N20 8JX

    Institution of Oceanography, San Diego, California, USA

    Preview
    Background
    Methods

    Results: Regional perspective


    Results: Focus on issues in Madagascar Wider context Challenges

    Background
    Bycatch of Sea Turtles in Artisanal Fisheries
    Major threat to sea turtles (e.g., Lewison et al. 2004, Read et al. 2008, Seminoff & Shanker 2008))

    Artisanal fishery impacts: difficult to quantify/understand

    Data particularly sparse from developing nations of Africa and Asia

    Bycatch Assessment Interviews


    Interviews to collect data on:

    LEK/TEK
    Threats to marine megafauna Socioeconomic context

    Duke Universitys Project GloBAL Moore et al. 2010 Rapid Bycatch Assessments (RBAs)

    Western Indian Ocean Islands

    Turtles in the WIO

    Important nesting & feeding grounds for sea turtles

    5 species present : C. mydas, E. imbricata, L. olivacea, C. caretta, D. coriacea

    Threats: Past & ongoing exploitation for meat, eggs; loss of nesting sites; bycatch

    Artisanal fisheries vital for coastal communities

    Regulations in place to protect sea turtles

    Study sites

    Interview design and sampling


    2007-2010 Structured interviews based on Project GloBAL Translations & Interview training Individual interviews: Included species ID guides & maps

    Sampling: Goal of 10%


    coverage*

    Site selection:
    aimed for geographic

    coverage*

    Reported capture of sea turtles

    Bycatch or targeted?

    Gears

    Species

    Fate of captured sea turtles

    Decision-making processes
    N. Madagascar

    Reasons for Eat/Sell Money Protein Delicious Bait


    Reasons for Release Conservation Dont like to eat Dont like to kill Dont know what to do Fady No buyers

    N. Madagascar Market values

    N. Madagascar Feelings re: bycatch

    Wider context
    Poverty of fishing communities Decreasing fish yields, increasing human pressure

    Lack of regulation enforcement


    Potential for future education campaigns

    Challenges
    Biases in responses Lack of background census & fisheries data

    Practical constraints on sampling


    What bycatch #s are significant? What does this mean for extrapolating to make bycatch estimates?

    MARAHABA MENJI, MISAOTRA, THANKS!


    FUNDING Comoros: Project GloBAL (Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation); Mauritius & Madagascar: Community Centred Conservation (C3) PARTNERS Comoros: Direction Nationale des Resources Halieutiques; Universit des Comores; HUPPE Mauritius: University of Mauritius Madagascar: University of Antsiranana; Madagascar National Parks; Centre National de Recherches Ocanographiques

    FOR MORE INFORMATION www.c-3.org.uk

    You might also like