Marine management

ReefDoctor’s marine management programme focuses on assessing current use of marine resources by the local community, exploring possible enhancements to current techniques and exploring alternative potential income from the reef. This includes:

A fisheries survey monitoring fishing effort, popular fishing areas, and commonly caught species to establish the relationship between fishing effort and yield.
An artificial habitat programme designed to enhance fish biodiversity and biomass in selected fishing grounds, while recognising the limited resources available to the local population.

An alternative incomes programme that explores the potential of tourism income through the creation of Marine Protected Areas where tourists dive or snorkel the reef for a nominal fee, and a programme of education for pirogue owners that wish to act as reef guides.

Fisheries survey

ReefDoctor has been completing surveys of the variety and quantity of fish species Ifaty fishermen catch for over a year now. The results of these surveys help us to understand Ifaty’s fishery, which is essential for successful management and protection of fish stocks for future generations.

The surveys take place on the beach where local staff meet fishermen and identify and measure their catches, or survey the stocks at the collection stations in Ifaty, which buy the catches from the fishermen to sell on in bulk to regional collectors.

The results of the fisheries surveys are recorded in ReefDoctor’s database after each survey, and are then analysed to assist the Ifaty community in the management of their marine resources and coral reef (e.g. through the development of no-take zones or marine protected areas that incorporate regions of high ecological diversity), and to further regional and national studies of coral reef health and biodiversity and resource utilisation by local populations.

Artificial habitat programme

Artificial habitats represent a way of concentrating fish populations in specific areas. Their introduction enables fishermen to visit these places for improved yield and to relieve fishing pressure on other healthy parts of the reef. At present ReefDoctor is conducting a number of experiments looking at different types of artificial reef structures and how they may help both the local community and the marine environment.

Fish Aggregation Devices

FADs are a way of improving inshore artisanal fisheries for fishing communities. They are artificial structures placed in the water to act as a means of concentrating fish from a large area, into a smaller area, thereby making them easier to catch.

As long as the quantity of fish harvested does not exceed the sustainable capacity, and the methods of harvesting do not unduly scare fish away, FADs can be used as a sustainable method for effectively increasing fishing yields and thus sustain a good nutritional and economic income.

Developed in conjunction with the local fishing community, ReefDoctor’s FAD designs use locally available materials requiring a minimal budget, making it affordable and replicable by individual fishermen or small associations of fishermen.

FADs are deployed in relatively shallow waters near to the barrier reef, making them easily accessible by pirogues (the local fishing boats) in all weather conditions. In this way ReefDoctor hopes to provide habitats that are a viable alternative to traditional fishing grounds.

Experimental FADs were first deployed in the area in 2004, with further designs tested in 2005. During 2006, ReefDoctor hopes to begin installing functional FADs and monitoring their success at attracting fish and improving yields.

Alternative incomes

At present the population of the village of Ifaty rely heavily on fishing and associated trades for their livelihoods. This has resulted in a great deal of pressure on the lagoon and reef of the Bay of Ranobe. In addition, fishing and working on the sea is more than just a job for the local Vezo fishermen, making their living from the sea is a matter of pride and makes them who they are.

At present much of the income for local communities comes from fishing, with alternative marine-based activities playing only a small role in income generation. While there is the potential for tourism income, much of the current income is restricted to local hotels and dive centres that are generally run by overseas nationals or people not from the local area. Although this may provide some jobs in the area, these are often not ‘vezo’ jobs and they do not involve the sea.

In exploring alternative livelihoods ReefDoctor is trying to help local people understand the pressures the reef is under and the limitations some fishing techniques might be placing on its income generation potential, while also exploring the income opportunities represented by tourism and other new marine industries.

At present this programme of work is in its early stages and has centred on two new areas of possible income generation from the marine environment:
the creation of marine protected areas that can be used to help generate income for the village, language and basic science training to improve local pirogue owners’ ability to act as marine guides for tourists.

Marine protected areas
At present, the villages of Ifaty and Mangili support the preservation of one area of patch reef within the Bay of Ranobe known as Le jardin du roses (Rose garden). This arrangement is an informal ‘no-take’ zone and is in recognition of the relative health of the corals in the area, and the diversity of fish species they support. However, at present there is little tangible benefit to the village from this informal protection.

At present, ReefDoctor is working with the Ministry of Fisheries, local NGOs and the villages to create a more formal arrangement whereby the villages can benefit from the tourism revenues generated by allocating certain areas as ‘protected areas’. Still in the early stages of planning, it is hoped that this programme will help to raise funds for the villages that can be channelled in to the development of improved fishing resources as well as improving community facilities such as wells, schools and medical facilities.

Tourist guide programme
The Guide programme is another new development in ReefDoctor’s activities and is taken from a pilot programme created in 2005 by Blue Ventures (http://www.blueventures.org). It is intended to provide the villagers with the opportunity to take advantage of the potential income available to them by acting as marine guides to tourists.

At present, ReefDoctor already completes work in this area through its education programme, but hopes in the future to create a more targeted programme that encourages local pirogue owners to act as guides for tourists on the reef, explaining the marine life of the lagoon, visiting protected sites where they can see that marine life in situ and involving them in responsible tourism practices.

This work will sit alongside our tourism education programme, designed to educate visitors to the area on responsible tourism, snorkelling and diving.

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