ACHIEVEMENTS: From December 2022 to July 2023

To promote Sustainable management of small-scale coastal fisheries in Northern Madagascar, the ECOFISH-C3 Madagascar provided the following supports to date:

• 1 year fisheries data collected in Ambolobozokely, Nosy Hara and Irodo KBA
• 148 individuals and 50 households participated in socioeconomic survey on small-scale fishing resource utilisation regarding the significance of the marine resources  derived from small-scale fisheries across three sites.
• 240 Junior Ecoguards from 13 schools participated in 2 days youth immersion programme
• 13 schools received funds to organize independently awareness activities on marine biodiversity conservation within their communities
• Over 50 Junior Ecoguards participated in international awareness day, including World Wetland Day, World Environmental Day and World Ocean Days

EXPECTED OUTPUTS:

• High level of awareness of fishing rules and regulations
• Increased motivation for the active management of their respective LMMAs
• Capacity building for fishermen’s unions and women’s associations
• Establishment of management and monitoring plans
• Capacity building with 300 local fishermen trained in the management and control of marine protected areas (50% women)
• Equality between the number of men and women in participation in the discourse and management of protected areas
• Availability of active management regimes and related fisheries policy documents
• Sharing of good practices resulting from the intervention and associated reports, at the national level to facilitate replication
• Ensuring food safety
• Elimination of threats from migrant fishermen which will strengthen community ownership and control of coastal resources
• Offer of safety margin for the recovery of habitats and fish stocks by LMMAs in the event of natural disasters (cyclones, floods, etc.)

ACTIVITIES:

• Monthly data collection at landing sites (12 months)
• Socio-economic surveys of households dependent on fishing
• Training of 30 local investigators (fishermen) at the landing sites in each zone
• Regular quality control and evaluation of data collected by the landing site teams
• Development of community fisheries management structures
• Identification of lessons learned when developing the community application program through stakeholder consultation
• Development of a guidance note in collaboration with local fisheries management structures
• Training of 30 junior eco-guards per site focused on fisheries management
• Quarterly social marketing events at each site
• Consultations with community and local management structures. Identification of key areas on which to focus fisheries management
• Development of formal management plans approved by the community
• Consensus reached on the most likely management measure to be successful
• Implementation of measures
• Continuous monitoring of implementation success and impacts on fish stocks and catches
• Collaboration with the MIHARI network to promote information exchange meetings with other LMMAs