Fishing community on the southwest coast of Madagascar is hunting octopus, dodging the treacherous spines of sea urchins, to continue their livelihood. For them octopus is of critical economic immportance, prompting village leaders to take innovative conservation measures that have won them global awards but also made them a test case for other fishing villages under pressure.
It is found that growing populations and commercial fishing are pressing the fishermen of Andavadoaka, known as the Vezo people, to catch more than a sustainable limit to maintain the area’s unique marine environment of coral reefs, mangroves and sea grass beds. Dorothe, a fisherwoman, said that life has become difficult now while in past octopus were easier to find.
It is told that the Vezo used to catch just enough to feed their families, bartering for rice and vegetables with the inland farmers. But since 2003, they have become part of an elaborate supply chain, selling their catch to traders who refrigerate and transport the goods, mostly octopus, for sale to Europe. Chan Jaco, director general of processing company Copefrito, explained that Madagascar exports 1,200 tonnes of octopus a year of which about 800 tonnes come from the Toliara region in the southwest.
Experts informed that the fishing remains the same the commercialisation has shifted local economies from barter to a cash-based competitive market, a fact lamented by local leaders. Everybody is now competing to buy a telly. It is fact that octopus lay thousands of eggs if given the chance and anecdotal evidence showed clearly that their populations were bouncing back after the Vezo’s self-imposed bans took effect.
Garth Cripps, project coordinator for Blue Ventures, a British conservation organisation in the area, said the ecosystem was at a crucial stage with Spanish and Asian trawlers reported fishing inside Madagascar’s territorial waters, and private companies introducing new techniques to increase local catches.
