Our Outreach Manager Steve Rocliffe has written an article for Save Our Seas Magazine Issue #5 concerning the temporary closure of the octopus fishery in the village of Andavadoaka, Madagascar:
“When the closure was lifted, fishers caught far larger octopuses – and far more of them. So impressive were the results that, before long, nearby villages were establishing closures of their own. And within three years, Andavadoaka had joined forces with two dozen neighbours to create a locally managed marine area known as Velondriake, a Vezo word meaning ‘to live with the sea’. Across an area of reefs, lagoons, mangroves and sea-grass beds the size of a quarter of a million football pitches, destructive practices such as poison fishing have been banned, while marine reserves permanently off limits to all fishing have been established… …Inspired by the success of Velondriake, coastal communities across the country have followed suit, grouping together to establish more than 60 similar initiatives. This growing network now covers over 11% of Madagascar’s seabed and has even received a seal of approval from the highest level of government. President Rajaonarimampianina has endorsed this locally centred revolution as a way of helping to protect ever greater swathes of the fragile waters that lap Madagascar’s shores.”
Read the full article: Octopus’s garden in Madagascar
Find out more about Blue Ventures’ temporary fisheries closure model