Nosy Hara and the Radama Islands, Madagascar

In the Radama islands where people do make a living out of growing crops such as bananas and rice, it was explained to us that fishing would be much preferred, because it is much less arduous, but there was no market close enough for sale. Probably the most lucrative and popular forms of fishing are the capture of sea-cucumbers and shark fins for the Asian Market. It became apparent that both these activities have only become common within the last 7-8 years, yet the observable consequences of their development are already alarming. Although there are legal size limitations for harvesting of sea cucumbers, these are disrespected throughout the area. The size of sea cucumbers in shallow waters has plummeted even in this short period of some six or seven years. Increasingly, people are resorting to methods as sophisticated as the use of oxygen bottles to attain deeper waters where larger ones can still be found.

Throughout our stay in the field, we worked closely with local communities whose life-styles and activities most impact upon the ecology of the North Western coasts of Madagascar. This work was carried out primarily by the Community Survey section of the team, although all team members - whilst living and working alongside local communities - added to the wealth of information collected. In both the Radama Islands and the Nosy Hara Archipelago, we set out to investigate the basic demographics of villages, and local levels of exploitation of marine resources. Both sites are under consideration for development as Marine Reserves.

In many villages all men from the ages of 14 upwards may be involved in this trade. It has become a veritable social sub-group, with trademarks such as rasta orange tinted hair, and a habit of spending all the money they make almost instantaneously on beer, drugs and women. Women also are involved in sea cucumber fishing. However, the 'women's method' is very different from the snorkeling method favoured by men. Every month or so, during the neap tides, certain coral reefs can be exposed at low tide. In the coral-reef-rich Nosy Hara area, this is particularly evident. Boatloads of up to thirty women camp on the islands for up to a week, and when the tide is low they go out and walk along the reefs collecting sea-cucumbers. This is known locally as 'mihaka'. At times we observed up to 60 other people camping on one beach, all involved in the preparation of sea-cucumbers collected during mihaka. It is a very social event. Unfortunately, mihaka has two significant negative consequences. Apart from occasional damage toral, the preperation of sea-cucumbers involves the use of fires to boil the days catch.

Deforestation of the near pristine forests of the islands during the mihaka period is an inevitable, and observable, side-effect of this practice. Shark fishermen operate using broad mesh nets known as 'jarifa'. A man repairing shark nets is a common site in villages up and down the coast and damaged nets may be used for fencing. The use of nets is highly effective and shark fishermen can catch as many as 100 sharks in a week's fishing trip. However, shark meat is not prized, and usually the fins are removed, and the rest of the shark abandoned. All sizes are taken, again in spite of existing legislation. Moreover, the large nets also trap other marine animals - in particular numerous turtles fall victim to such nets. While it is difficult to quantify the number of turtles caught or killed in shark nets, it was uncommon for a shark fisherman to return from a fishing trip to and report that at least one turtle had been killed. This is one of the many problems where further work is urgently needed. Most villages possess small shops selling plastic-ware, biscuits, beer, and soft drinks. However, most also have no schools or any medical support that is not within several hours walking distance. This may be influenced by the fact that as many of the people are migrants who stay for only short periods in each area, and for whom there is little impetus to invest in the village they are currently occupying. Also, many villages on the coast off the Nosy Hara archipelago are seasonal, and are populated only during those months when the seas are calm. In the Nosy Hara archipelago, turtles seem mostly to be taken opportunistically, as a convenient food source while camping on the islands, rather than exploited economically for meat or shells. In the Radama Islands the majority of the permanent population of the islands respect local fady (taboo) that protects turtles from capture or consumption. However, the sizeable migrant population that also frequent the area regularly catch and eat turtles. The sale of scales for the creation of ornaments was quite routine in the Radamas, although almost entirely absent in the Nosy Hara region. Although occasionally we encountered hostility in the more suspicious and commercial-minded of the fishermen, often people we talked were friendly and sometimes gratifyingly interested in our work. Moreover, local people were impressively knowledgeable regarding local wildlife. In particular, many people were knew a lot about turtle biology and nesting activities. Unfortunately, most were skeptical regarding the endangered status of marine turtles given their high abundance in the area. Future work in both area is essential if future management plans are to be implemented. In particular the introduction of conservation education is to be supported. However, migrant fishermen remain the biggest threat to the area's marine environment, and until these areas fall under the protection of Marine Reserves it is unlikely that the undoubted natural wealth of the North Western coasts of Madagascar can properly be protected.