In Antananarivo, in the middle of the Photo Museum’s gardens, is an exhibition run by NGO Blue Ventures dedicated to traditional fishermen. The opportunity to make the inhabitants of the highlands aware of the role of these essential actors in the conservation of marine resources. In view of the lack of marine resources, small Malagasy fishermen have been organized for the last fifteen years to manage their resources more sustainably.
as reported from Antananarivo, Sarah Tétaud
“Which of you has ever seen the sea?” Says the guide. Of the approximately one hundred young visitors, students from a facility in the capital, less than twenty have already been on the coast.
Miadamanana, 15, is one of the lucky ones: “Yes, I went once to see the sea. It was in Majunga. But I was completely unaware that there was a problem with a shortage of fish … and how rudimentary the fishing methods used by the small fish were ”.
Self-management of small-scale fishermen
On site, Lalao Aigrette, National Technical Adviser for the Mangrove Conservation Program at Blue Ventures, explains to school children how the fishermen, who now manage 20% of the coast themselves, contribute on their own scale to limit the disaster.
“On the ground, the fishermen have set up places where fishing and cutting of mangroves is completely forbidden. For other areas, they set up a temporary fishing closure to allow the fish to grow and reproduce. They also organize community surveillance to ensure that none of them use destructive fishing equipment. In the end, the situation is serious due to climate change and overfishing, but community initiatives are working! Better than when introduced from the outside [les autorités, les ONG, etc. ndlr]. “
For greater influence, however, shellfish companies and authorities, especially those responsible for monitoring illegal fishing, obviously have a major role to play.
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