Stories from the field

Jao is a member of the Local Park Committee in Lalandakana village and works in collaboration with the park managers patrolling the park area. He is also a fisherman and provides for his family mainly from selling his fishing products.

But life is becoming more and more difficult for him. As Jao said: “starting from year 2000, fishing products has decreased from about 100 kg per outing per fisherman to 20 kg or even less”. An outing can last from three days to one week. This is caused both by climate and non-climate factors: more fishermen have come to fish around the coral reefs habitat in Nosy Hara National Park mainly during the dry windy season when the wind locally called varatraza strongly blows from the East. Indeed, the wind is now blowing stronger for a longer period making it more and more difficult to go out fishing using the small traditional boat and only a sail.

WWF, in collaboration with Madagascar National Parks, has donated a 7 m boat with a sail, an engine and fishing equipment for offshore fishing to the Local Park Committee of Lalandakana village. Jao is convinced that this will help him and the other committee members in improving the situation of their livelihoods as they will be able to fish during the windy season. But this will also decrease fishing pressure on the coral reefs and thus help increase coral reefs resilience.