Staff involved:

Alasdair Edwards, Shoals Rodrigues personnel (Rodrigues Island), Fiona Gell (Isle of Man), Charles Anderson (Atoll Wildlife)

Funding:

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)

Lagoon seine-net fishing team at work

Satellite image of Rodrigues Island showing the extensive lagoon system

Location of Rodrigues Island in the western Indian Ocean

Developing reserves for biodiversity conservation and sustainable fisheries

Project

The purpose of the project (February 2005 - January 2008) has been to assist the Rodrigues Regional Assembly in establishing a management strategy for a network of four marine reserves in the northern Rodrigues lagoon. These were finally gazetted in April 2007 and the first of them has just been demarcated. The project has also evaluated what further resource management strategies are needed to protect the unique biodiversity of the island's coral reef ecosystem (which includes 6 endemic fish and one endemic coral species) and to improve the sustainability of artisanal fisheries. The lagoon supports an important seine net fishery as well as trap and line fisheries and an octopus fishery.

An integral part of the project is to build local capacity in marine and fisheries science skills to support reserve and fisheries management for the future. Raising environmental awareness across the local community through Shoals Rodrigues's Marine Education and Training programmes is a further project objective. Capacity building and education are both key factors in improving the likelihood of long term success of the initiative. Examples of the latter are posters in English, Creole and French respectively of the Reef Fishes of Rodrigues, Tou Tipiti pou Mort, and Le Récif de Demain produced with Darwin Initiative funding and distributed to all schools and fishing communities on the island.

Through the establishment of the four marine reserves there should be economic and social benefits for fishers which will hopefully encourage them to support conservation measures. The project offers training in research methods to Shoals Rodrigues, Fisheries Research and Training Unit (FRTU) and Fisheries Protection Service (FPS) staff to support their monitoring of fisheries and habitats both within and outside the new reserves. This will allow the effectiveness of the reserves to be assessed.

Significance

Fishing is one of the largest employment sectors on Rodrigues, as there is a lack of industrial development and tourism is in its infancy. Nearly 20% of the total workforce are full-time, registered fishers, with a further 2000 people fishing on a casual basis. Subsistence fishers are already amongst the poorest members of the community, and the situation looks set to worsen if fisheries continue to decline. By working with stakeholders to develop a strategy that will allow lagoon fish stocks to recover and be exploited more sustainably, this project seeks to support the livelihoods of the fishing community.

Le Mauricien Monday 12 September 2005

National newspaper report on the project in Mauritius.

Le Vrais Rodriguais Friday 28 April 2006

Local newspaper report on the project in Rodrigues.

Darwin News Issue 9. July 2007

Article entitled Marine reserves declared report in Rodrigues and local NGO Shoals Rodrigues wins two awards.

Reports

Hardman E, Edwards AJ and Raffin JSJ (2013) The seine-net fishery of Rodrigues Island, western Indian Ocean: is it sustainable or in terminal decline? Fisheries Research 139: 35-42.
Edwards AJ, Hardman ER, Blais FEI, Desiré MS, Raffin JSJ, Perrine S, Raffaut R, Hooper, TL and Hooper TEJ (2011) Length-weight relationships for 15 species of reef fish caught in the lagoonal seine-net fishery at Rodrigues Island, Indian Ocean. Shoals Rodrigues: Pointe Monier, Rodrigues. 29 pp.
Edwards AJ, Hooper TL (Eds) (2009) Proceedings of the Workshop on a Regional Perspective on MPAs in the Western Indian Ocean, Rodrigues Island, Mauritius, 9-14 May 2007. Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne and Marine Education Trust, Cullompton, UK. ii + 131 pp. High resolution version (14 MB); Low resolution version (4 MB)
Gell FR et al.(2008) Rivière Banane Marine Reserve Management Plan. Port Erin: Isle of Man; Shoals Rodrigues: Pointe Monier. 25 pp.
Hardman ER, Blais FEI, Desiré MS, Raffin JSJ, Perrine S, Taylor J (2008d) Annual report of benthos, reef fish and invertebrate surveys for reef slope and reef flat areas in Rodrigues 2007. Shoals Rodrigues: Pointe Monier. iv + 40 pp.
Hardman ER, Blais FEI, Desiré MS, Raffin JSJ, Perrine S, Meunier S (2008c) Annual report on the status of the artisanal seine net fishery of Rodrigues 2007. Shoals Rodrigues: Pointe Monier. v + 24 pp. + appendices.
Hardman ER, Desiré MS, Raffin JSJ, Perrine S, Gell FR (2008b) Marine Reserves for sustainable fisheries management in Rodrigues. Alternative livelihood options: 2. Shoals Rodrigues: Pointe Monier. ii + 7 pp.
Hardman ER, Blais FEI, Desiré MS, Raffin JSJ, Perrine S (2008a) Annual report of benthos, reef fish and invertebrate surveys for lagoon areas in Rodrigues 2007. Shoals Rodrigues: Point Monier. iv + 14 pp. + appendices.
Edwards AJ, Hardman ER, Hooper, T (eds) (2007) A Regional Perspective on MPAs in the Western Indian Ocean. Escale Vacances Hotel, Rodrigues Island, Mauritius 9-14 May 2007. Marine Protected Area Information Tables. Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne; Shoals Rodrigues: Point Monier. 29 pp.
Edwards AJ (2007) Manual for the Fishing Database developed for Shoals Rodrigues for monitoring of the large seine-net lagoon fishery. Newcastle University: Newcastle upon Tyne. 10 pp.
Anon (2007b) A Regional Perspective on MPAs in the Western Indian Ocean. Escale Vacances Hotel, Rodrigues Island, Mauritius 9-14 May 2007. Sommaires des Présentations. 24 pp.
Anon (2007a) A Regional Perspective on MPAs in the Western Indian Ocean. Escale Vacances Hotel, Rodrigues Island, Mauritius 9-14 May 2007. Summary of Presentations. Shoals Rodrigues: Point Monier. 35 pp.
Hardman ER, Blais FEI, Desiré MS, Raffin JSJ, Perrine S, Gell FR (2007b) Marine Reserves for sustainable fisheries management in Rodrigues. Alternative livelihood options: 1. Shoals Rodrigues: Pointe Monier. ii + 6 pp. + appendices.
Hardman ER, Blais FEI, Desiré MS, Raffin JSJ, Perrine S, Raffaut R, Chinien-Chetty M, Towill, J (2007a) Annual report of benthos, reef fish and invertebrate surveys for reef slope and reef flat areas in Rodrigues 2006. Shoals Rodrigues: Pointe Monier. 51 pp.
Hardman ER, Blais FEI, Desiré MS, Raffin JSJ, Perrine S, Chinien-Chetty M (2006f) Annual report of benthos, reef fish and invertebrate surveys for lagoon areas in Rodrigues 2006. Shoals Rodrigues: Point Monier. 19 pp.
Hardman ER, Gell FR, Blais FEI, Desiré MS, Raffin JSJ, Perrine S, Chinien-Chetty, M (2006e) Marine Reserves for sustainable fisheries management in Rodrigues. Shoals Rodrigues: Pointe Monier. iii + 13 pp.
Hardman ER, Blais FEI, Desiré MS, Raffin JSJ, Perrine S, Chinien-Chetty RM, Meunier S (2006d) Annual report on the status of the artisanal seine net fishery of Rodrigues 2006. Shoals Rodrigues: Pointe Monier. 29 pp. + appendices.
Gell FR (2006) Development of a strategy for marine reserve management in Rodrigues using community consultation and stakeholder participation. Report on second visit to Rodrigues, 27 March to 16 April 2006. Port Erin, iv + 25 pp.
Hardman ER, Blais FEI, Raffin JSJ, Perrine S, Raffaut R, Chinien-Chetty M (2006c) Annual report of benthos, reef fish and invertebrate surveys for lagoon areas in Rodrigues 2005. Shoals Rodrigues: Point Monier. 25 pp.
Hardman ER, Blais FEI, Desiré MS, Raffin JSJ, Perrine S, Raffaut R, Chinien-Chetty M (2006b) Annual report of benthos, reef fish and invertebrate surveys for reef slope and reef flat areas in Rodrigues 2005. Shoals Rodrigues: Pointe Monier. 43 pp.
Hardman ER, Blais FEI, Desiré MS, Raffin JSJ, Perrine S, Raffaut R, Chinien-Chetty M (2006a) Annual report on the status of the artisanal seine net fishery of Rodrigues 2005. Shoals Rodrigues: Pointe Monier. v + 56 pp.
Anderson RC (2006) Impacts of Marine Reserves in Rodrigues: Report of a training visit to Shoals Rodrigues, March 2006. Manta Marine Pvt Ltd: Malé. 21 pp.
Anderson RC (2005) Impacts of Marine Reserves in Rodrigues: Report of a training visit to Shoals Rodrigues, September 2005. Atoll Wildlife, Newmarket. 26 pp.
Gell FR (2005) Development of a strategy for marine reserve management in Rodrigues using community consultation and stakeholder participation. Port Erin, 28 pp.
Edwards AJ (2005) Review of the status of fisheries and habitat monitoring programmes at Rodrigues with recommendations for development following establishment of marine reserves. Newcastle University: Newcastle upon Tyne. 34 pp.
Gell FR, Lynch TL, Meunier MS, Blais FEI, Hooper TEJ (2003) Marine Reserves for sustainable fisheries and conservation in Rodrigues. Shoals Rodrigues: Pointe Monier. 32 pp.