Overfishing
Off the coast of Madagascar, overfishing has become a major issue. The Vezo rely entirely on fishing, who for the past 2,000 years have been navigating the stretch of the Indian Ocean that separates Madagascar from the African continent in hand-carved pirogues. Increasingly, commercial boats, mostly from Asia and Europe, are fishing those same waters. Thus, it is difficult for the traditional fishermen to compete in the market. In response, many Vezo have resorted to fishing hundreds of miles offshore, spending six to nine months a year in rough and dangerous waters in search of sharks and sea cucumbers, both in high demand in Asian seafood markets. Some bring their families and all their possessions and set up camp on sandbars far from civilization.
Artificial Habitat Programme
ReefDoctor has an ongoing programme that aims to enhance fish biodiversity and biomass by the introduction of artificial habitats. In this way the organization hopes to help the local community manage their fishing resources by providing habitats that are a viable alternative to the over exploited, traditional Vezo fishing. Since 2001, ReefDoctor has conducted a number of experiments looking at different types of artificial reef structures and how these may help both the local fishing community and the marine environment:
· IARCs (Indigenous Artificial Reef Complexes). These are small experimental structures created from reef rubble placed into cement bases thus creating structure from an unstructured habitat. The more complex and stable habitat promotes greater diversity of fish and coral life.
· Pelagic FADS (Fish Aggregation Devices) are method of improving artisanal fisheries. They are artificial structures placed in the water to act as a means of concentrating fish from a large area, into a smaller one, thereby making them easier to catch. FAD experiments were conducted between 2004–2006 and with advice from Ifaty’s fishing community, ReefDoctor designed, constructed and deployed a low cost FAD from locally sourced materials. There are currently plans underway to begin installing a series of these functional FADs to improve the bay’s fisheries yields, sustaining a good nutritional and economic income for Vezo communities.
At present members of ReefDoctor’s science team are conducting further research into other forms of artificial habitats such as ‘ReefBalls’ and conducting feasibility studies across the bay to determine suitable sites for future initiatives.
Read more about this topic: Vezo People