Sustainable octopus fisheries in the community of Jongowe / Jongowe Development Foundation (Zanzibar)

 

 

The community/organization and local perspectives on conservation and stewardship

 

Jongowe development Foundation (JDF), is an organization of small scale fishers located in the Jongowe fisheries community on the small island of Tumbatu, Northwest of Unguja Island in Zanzibar, Tanzania. Indigenous peoples reside on the island in coastal rural areas, and their livelihoods depend on small scale fisheries. Community members fish in shallow waters using nets, traps, fishing lines etc. 

 

Environmental conservation and stewardship have different meanings, with a variety of perceptions both positive and negative depending on how the community is affected. Marine environments are considered very important because they support the livelihoods of the community where 99% of the residents depend on fishing. When you talk about marine conservation, which the community is practicing via octopus closure, there is often local dissatisfaction with patrol support efforts from the government to address ongoing damage and destruction by poachers. When you talk about community stewardship efforts they talk positively that the community is working hard to protect its environment with the support of the community organization, JDF.   

 

Stewardship experience: Marine conservation through octopus closure and sea cucumber farming

 

The issue or problem being addressed

With the support of JDF, the community did rapid assessments on the declining harvest or fish catch, specifically the harvest of very small octopus, but also declining fish catch in general. The fishing area was exhausted, with severe overfishing in the reefs of the island done by outside fishers in the north of Unguja main Island and neighboring fisheries communities from Coastal Tanzania Bagamoyo and Tanga. Monitoring the area to address this poaching problem has been very challenging for the community. Fishers are using some illegal gears which destroy the fishing areas, while tourism activities and others are forcing demand of fish and other marine products to be very high. Loss of marine species at the area was found to be very high, where a low variety of species in the waters of the island was evidenced which need to be addressed together with other identified problems. 

 

The activities

The idea (octopus fishing area closures and sea cucumber farming) was initiated by some community members. These community members proposed the project to a team of people who were selected by the Village Council. The team presented the concept to the Council and then the general meeting approved the project for implementation. The technical team with the Fisheries Committee was given the mandate of coordinating the project. The team took the lead to mobilize initial resources for implementation, where Blue Ventures (International NGO) was approached for support, and provided the support needed to implement the octopus closure project through Mwambao Coastal Community Network, an NGO operating in Tanzania Mainland and Zanzibar.

 

The benefits/impacts including sustainability/environmental effects

The result is very positive. Since implementing the octopus closure which started in 2016, the environment is being restored and some of the lost species are coming back. Fish populations in the protected areas are now improved, while octopus, which was the primary conservation objective, have been improved in terms of weight, height and quantity. 

 

The concrete results are;

i. The environment has been restored, whereby illegal fishing activities are reduced. There were many fishers who were using iron/wired traps, ‘Juya’. Very small fish nets are no longer used in the area

ii. Fish catch has increased for octopus- larger size, weights and height of octopus are being harvested. Other species of fish have increased as compared to five years ago. Shellfish harvesting has also improved.

iii. Improved income and economy of fishers and the community in general, which has helped to cater for social services such as for paying health costs, education fees, family contributions for wedding and funerals etc.

iv. Restoration of lost species like seahorses, butterfly fishes and ornamental fishes. Green grasses, sea weeds, coral reefs and other environmental issues now can be seen to be recovering. 

 

The success and significance of the activities

It was significant because this problem was affecting the livelihood of the community, and the organization is proud that there is positive change in the community due to the project.

 

Some lessons learned or words of wisdom 

Community involvement, engagement and participatory decision making is very important in such a project. Awareness of all groups within the community and outside the community with all stakeholders is also important. In the current situation, ongoing data collection is needed to understand the results of the efforts of the community and other partners. 

Women (as well as some men) are the most important beneficiaries of the initiatives as they are mostly active in the shallow water fishery. They collect shellfish, small fish, octopus, and anchovies by foot, using small-meshed nets. They are part of the community general meeting, they have the women’s leadership…

This initiative is very important for the community in [terms of] livelihood sustainability but needs to be supported when the resources from the community are not able to undertake the initiative. Any concerned party in the SSF should be aware that there are other communities that need support and there should be a mechanism of introducing a special fund for supporting the communities involved in stewardship.

 

 

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Fishery Facts

(Below are the applicable categories of fisheries, environment, species, gear type and livelihood role.)

 

Characteristics of local fisheries:

• Marine capture fishery (e.g. nearshore/coastal/reef-based/deep sea)
• Inland capture fishery (e.g. river/lake/reservoir)
• Subsistence fishery
• Multi-species

The environment where fishing takes place: 

• Open Ocean
• Coastal – Nearshore
• Habitat – Rocky / Coral

Main species targeted:

• Marine – Large pelagics (finfish) – e.g. tuna/sharks
• Marine – Small pelagics (finfish) – e.g. reef fishes/herring/mackerel/sardines 
• Marine – Demersal finfish – e.g. cod/flatfish/grouper
• Molluscs (including bivalves and cephalopods – e.g. octopus/clams)
• Other animals (e.g. jellyfish/sea cucumber) –  just in designing stage 
• Algae or seaweed and other aquatic plants

Gear types/ methods used:

• Purse seine
• Beach seine
• Line
• Pot/trap
• Beach harvest/gleaning (e.g. collection of shellfish/algae/mangrove crabs etc.)

Role of the fishery in local livelihoods:

• Main source of employment
• Full time