Fishermen and women in northern Mozambique have celebrated the re-opening of the country’s first periodic reef closure targeting the octopus fishery. The reserves, which work by closing a small part of a village’s reef area to octopus fishing for a few months, have proven to be an effective method of increasing catches and incomes among coastal fishing communities in Madagascar.
Inspired by a community visit to Madagascar last year and marking the culmination of two years work by AMA (a Mozambican environmental organisation) and Blue Ventures’ partners in the Our Sea Our Life Project, this reserve reopening was a significant day for the project and the fishing community that has managed and implemented this landmark fisheries closure.
On 8th March 2016 in Quiwia, on Mozambique’s northern coast, the villagers reopened the intertidal area of 130 hectares, a fishing zone that was closed in September 2015. By the end of the day a record 350kg of octopus was landed – the equivalent of a normal 15-day fishing period.
Blue Ventures has been proud to support partners in the Our Sea Our Life project with technical assistance in participatory fisheries monitoring, in particular pioneering the use of mobile devices to monitor seafood landings.
Read more about the opening in ZSL’s blog
Watch this short video about the Our Sea Our Life project
The OurSeaOurLife project is funded by theEuropean Union, Darwin Initiative and Fondation Ensemble.