27/09/2018

Mwambao have been working with communities in Pemba to implement sustainable management of octopus fisheries since 2015.

Makoongwe are the forth community Mwambao are working with in Pemba to implement sustainable management of octopus fisheries. They’re the third community in our project collaborating with Fauna and Flora International (FFI).

Last week interviews were held within Makoongwe for data recorders and data officers. Data recorders will collect octopus catch data during each bamvua (the fishing period) from fishers and octopus buyers. The information collected includes, but is not limited to, weight and length of octopus, fishing method, fishing location. Data officers have the responsibility to input the data collected onto a computer.

The four people in the photo above were selected from Makoongwe, two data recorders and two data officers. Training was held the following day with all four individuals, they started recording octopus catch almost immediately!

Makoongwe plan to start their first temporary closure in October so starting to record now is essential to allow us to see the impact of the closure.