Words by Smiley Team
Love The Oceans (LTO) has announced a fundraising campaign for their new sustainable fishing project (SFP) with the communities of Jangamo, Mozambique.
The global pandemic has reduced the income from tourism by over 95%, leaving huge amounts of the population without an income. Subsequently, the pressure on the oceans has increased as people have turned to illegal poaching to feed their families. This unsustainable poaching could result in a collapse in local fish stocks, ultimately leaving people to starve.
This unique initiative offers an opportunity for people to continue to fish for their families legally and sustainably – a win for the people and the oceans.
As a non-profit marine conservation organisation working in Jangamo Bay, Mozambique, LTO aims to protect protect and study the diverse marine life and megafauna found in the area.
Through research, educating and diving, they strive to protect the marine environment in the Jangamo district of Mozambique and establish it as a Marine Protected Area. In doing so, working towards our vision to develop a holistic conservation strategy which can be replicated along the East African Coastline which protects and preserves the diverse ocean fauna native to those areas while empowering the surrounding communities to thrive.
The project is the first of its kind in the area and is based on LTO’s coral and fisheries research conducted over the last five years. LTO's research shows that local fishing methods such as spearfishing and netting have resulted in a lack of large herbivores on local reefs. Netting is an unselective method of fishing that is prolific in this area and catches a huge amount of bycatch – animals that are caught by accident.
This bycatch has included manta rays, whales, dolphins, turtles, and even a great white shark. Spearfishermen are limited to fishing on the local reefs because of the currents in the bay, and in these desperate times they are catching anything they can – most often herbivores.
Herbivores are crucial to reef health because they eat the algae that competes with corals for rock space and keeps it in check. Without the herbivores, the algae runs rampant and can overpower the coral, ultimately leading to the death of the reef. Corals are vital to maintaining a balance in the ecosystem because, among other things, they provide the nursery grounds for 100s of fish species which make up a large part of the protein source for the population here.
This initiative will enable the fishermen to use kayaks to fish from instead, allowing them to reach deeper waters and target larger carnivorous fish – the fish that predate on the herbivores, allowing the herbivore population to recover. To participate, the fishermen must give up their other methods of fishing (netting and spearfishing) and take part in a sustainability workshop, ultimately alleviating pressure on local reefs and restoring balance in the marine ecosystem.
“The global pandemic has stopped tourism in Mozambique and people have become desperate, turning to illegal poaching for food. This project is essential, giving people the opportunity to continue to fish, legally and sustainably to feed their families.” says Francesca Trotman, Founder at Love the Oceans.
'“This is a locally led project, working in partnership with the fishing community. It has the potential to change the face of fishing in this region and save the coral reefs while we still can.”
Initial set up costs for the project are partially funded by zinc-oxide supplier Evercare as part of their Positive Reef Initiative, and the award-winning PaddleYak Sea Kayak Productions CC and Real Cape Adventures CC.
The project is designed to eventually become financially sustainable in itself, with the fishermen earning enough to maintain it. LTO requires an additional £8000 to cover set-up costs and has started a justgiving page to raise funds, be it through individual donors, corporate sponsors, fundraisers or equipment sponsors. Even a small donation makes a big difference in their efforts with a meter of rudder cable being just £1.50 and a rod for £30.
The project will start in October 2020 and the justgiving page will be updated regularly, as well as updates posted on all of LTO’s social media platforms.
To find out more about Love The Oceans you can head to their website and you can also support the fundraising initiative for the Sustainable Fishing Project by heading to: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/sustainablefishingproject
We caught up with Francesca as part of our Smiley Talks: Climate event. You can watch the video below and find out more about our future events
