Poster: Spiny Lobsters and Shrimps of the South West Indian Ocean: Sharing Networks, Surveys at Sea and Strategies for Stock Management
Groeneveld Johan Nilza Dias, Edward Kimani, Herimami Razafindrakoto, Catherine Mwakosya South West Indian Ocean Fisheries Project SWIOFP, fisheries, regional management, shared stocks, developing region Artisanal and industrial fisheries for shrimps (prawns), spiny lobsters, langoustines and crabs are ever-present along the margins of the South West Indian Ocean, extending from eastern South Africa to Kenya, and around Madagascar. Most of the landings reported from the region come from Mozambique and Madagascar shallow-water prawn fisheries, however industrial deep-water trap and trawl fisheries are important off South Africa and Mozambique. The South West Indian Ocean Fisheries Project (SWIOFP) supports a multi-national collaborative approach towards assessing the regional status and fisheries potential of crustacean resources, and whether they are shared or localized. Existing data on fishing effort and catches spanning back many decades were sourced from governments and the private sector, and compiled in retrospective analyses to identify data gaps and historical trends. Research surveys using chartered fishing vessels were undertaken in the waters of Mozambique, Madagascar, Tanzania and Kenya to collect abundance, distribution and biological data of priority species, and observers were deployed on commercial vessels to collect fisheries information. The survey data supported six masters degree studies as a scientific capacity building initiative in a developing region. Several of these studies focused on the genetic connectivity between trans-boundary stocks - an important aspect when deciding on regional or local management strategies. Strong networks were formed among scientists of the region, to cope with the large geographical scale and multi-national nature of the research. Experiences and preliminary results are presented.
Poster: Spiny Lobsters and Shrimps of the South West Indian Ocean: Sharing Networks, Surveys at Sea and Strategies for Stock Management.pdf
