BACKGROUND
AND CONTEXT
The
West Indian Ocean (WIO) is the site of some of the most dynamic
and variable large marine ecosystems (LMEs) in the world. Large
currents with complexities such as the Agulhas Current retroflection,
migrating anti-cyclonic eddies in the Mozambique Channel and di-polar
vortices off East Madagascar induce variability into ecosystems
of the region. In addition, coupling between atmospheric circulation
and ocean processes lead to extensive monsoon systems that in
turn lead to the development of unique events, such as the seasonal
Somali LME, one of the most intense and nutrient-rich coastal
upwelling systems in the world. Similarly, the Agulhas LME, to
the south, represents a region of dynamic nutrient cycling and
associated fisheries potential. These two large LMEs, as well
as the influence of the 2 000 km long Mascarene Plateau, have
a profound basin-wide and transboundary influence over the region’s
ecosystems, biodiversity and fishery resources (Spencer et al.
2005). These WIO LMEs are unique and of great regional, and probable
global, importance. Yet there is generally little information
about these LMEs and the systems or mechanisms that link them.
Nor is there adequate and specific information about the species
composition, distribution, behaviour and migration patterns of
fishery resources associated with these systems (www.wiofish.org).
At their present level of economic development, countries of the
WIO region are neither able to estimate the potential of their
marine ecosystems nor to draw sustainable long-term benefits from
them.
The
world’s marine environment has been divided into 19 major
fishing areas by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the
United Nations (FAO). One of the largest of these is the West
Indian Ocean, accounting for some 8% of total marine waters, at
30 million square kilometres. While global trends in fish landings
for most of the 19 areas are negative, the West Indian Ocean has
maintained a steady rate of increase in total landings. This has
largely been as a result of the increased harvest of tuna and
tuna-like species, along with recent additions of toothfish and
orange roughy. While the FAO reports that total catch is relatively
modest at about 4 million mt, only 4.6% of the world total marine
fish landings, it is seen by distant fleets as an opportunity
to offset their decreased landings from other regions. This body
of water provides sustenance and job opportunities to an ever-increasing
human population, but riparian countries lack the capacity to
draw appropriate benefits from the resources in their exclusive
economic zones (EEZ). Furthermore, the Indian Ocean is the only
ocean fully surrounded by developing countries, with close on
half the world’s population residing in countries that edge
on it. The challenges faced in meeting expectations and demands
are enormous – more especially so in times of drought, climate
change and unsettled socio-economic conditions.
Recognizing
these facts, countries of the region have developed a collaborative
project that embraces their own fishery-related needs and expectations
in a regional and transboundary context. Known as the South West
Indian Ocean Fisheries Project (SWIOFP), implemented by the World
Bank, it is one of a trio of linked GEF-supported projects that
that is set to provide an overall transboundary diagnostic analysis
(TDA) and associated Strategic Action Plan (SAP). The other two
projects being the West Indian Ocean Land Based Sources of Pollution
(WIOLaB) implemented by United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
and the Agulhas-Somali LME study (ASLME) implemented by the United
Nations Development Program (UNDP).
Background and Context
