About two weeks before I arrived in Mozambique, the local fishermen
in Tofo had received a fishing boat as part of a governmental
incentive to assist fishers along the coast. This boat is larger and
has an outboard motor which is a significant improvement from the row
boats they are accustomed to using for their daily trips onto the
ocean. Despite the good intentions of this gesture, the Marine
Mega-fauna Foundation witnessed some disturbing results. The boat is
outfitted with large gill nets designed for offshore use. The
first day that the boat was taken out, researchers here at the
foundation were disappointed to watch the fishers bringing in a large
number of mobular rays, sharks, and a variety of reef fish. All
indications that the fishers had been fishing on the near-shore reef
systems instead of taking the nets out into deep water where they
could catch large pelagic fish. MMF was key in an effort to beach
this boat and prevent further destructive fishing practices from
occurring until governmental officials could decide upon the best way
to proceed. Since then the government has been hosting a series of
meetings to try and come to an agreement between the government
officials and fishermen. The result was that the government has now
sold the boat to the fishers for their continued use under the
restriction that they do not use the gill net but only fish with hand
lines. Over the weekend, the boat was once again taken out to sea but
the restriction was ignored and gill nets were once again deployed.
Several researchers at MMF were waiting on the beach when they
returned to count the catch which consisted of two sharks, seventeen
mobular rays, and a variety of reef fish.
It was a memorable experience for me as I tried to obtain high
quality photographs of what was occurring while trying to avoid
conflict with the fishermen themselves. There were two specific
individuals who were not pleased with the presence of photographers
and confronted us many times over the hour and a half that we were on
the beach. As I stood there, I had mixed feelings about the situation
unfolding before me. It is an extremely destructive practice and, if
it continues, could collapse the delicate system here in the waters
around Tofo. However, these fishermen are simply trying to make a
living. They do not have the right kind of education to understand
the way that the ocean ecosystem functions and are only concerned
with trying to feed their families. Seventeen rays and two sharks
lying dead on the beach is very sad and is bad for the local
populations of those species. But when I think of the large
industrial trawlers out in the ocean bringing up thousands of sharks
in a single day, I know that the practices of these fishers is only a
small part of a much larger problem.
Somethings you know exist, but you can't quite understand or
appreciate it till you see it for yourself. It is like someone trying
to explain the sound of a symphony to you. You can understand what
they are talking about and, perhaps, have some reference to compare
it to, but until you've heard it for yourself you can never fully
comprehend the beauty and awe that it evokes. I felt my heart start
to race when I watched a fishermen pull one of the sharks
away from the boat, grasp the dorsal fin in one hand, and slice the
fin away from the body with a knife. Shark finning happening before
my very eyes. Something that I've read about, learned statistics,
given presentations to educate others, but now I've seen it in
person. I know its real. And I have the pictures to prove it.
