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Sustainable Fisheries
Protecting Cabo Verde’s Fisheries for the Future
Cabo Verde’s fisheries are crucial for livelihoods, food, and the economy, but face threats from overfishing, poor management, and illegal practices. Sustainable practices can protect marine ecosystems and secure future livelihoods.
Making Sustainable Fish the Best Choice
Like many coastal countries, the fisheries sector is an essential part of Cabo Verde's social and economic landscape, playing important roles in improving food security, job creation, and poverty reduction. Over the last decade, declining stock and increasingly unpredictable seasonality has left the sector extremely vulnerable. Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing practices and a poor management of the sector are adding to the burden and are leaving many fishers with increasingly smaller catches, while they spend more time in the sea and go further out.
To combat threats to the marine species and fisheries sector we are working on various methods to create sustainable fishing practices along the value chain.
In 2019 Project Biodiversity has launched "Sustentável, do Mar ao Prato", an island-wide awareness campaign aimed at engaging every part of the fisheries supply chain - from the fisher to the consumer - to make more sustainable choices when it comes to the fish they catch, sell and eat.
The campaign's message brings into focus the importance of adhering to minimum catch size for popularly consumed species of fish, to ensure the reproductive cycle is not interrupted and the populations protected. Though the target species is the blue spotted grouper, one of the most consumed and impacted species, the campaign also highlights the minimum size of other fish including mackerel, scad, and seabream. It also highlights the reproduction periods of lobsters, during which the species should not be caught to ensure the continuation of their life cycle.
A Strong Network for Sustainable Fisheries
As a deeply inter-connected sector, good fisheries management requires cooperation throughout all parts of the supply chain. By building a strong network of fishers, buyers, and consumers committed to sustainability, we can help support the recovery of exploited fish stocks while continuing to support local livelihoods.
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Supporting Fishers
Fishers and fish workers are the front lines of the sustainability supply chain. We're working together with local groups to support adherence to minimum catch size for target species and sustainable practices to reduce waste. This participatory system will help the recovery of fish stock and the sustainability of artisanal fisheries.
Connecting Markets
Restaurants and independent sellers of local fish catch are what connect consumers to the species of fish that are on their plate. A stronger link between fishers and buyers is needed to increase transparency and a market primed for sustainable fishing products.
Empowering Consumers
The consumer is the final stop in the supply chain and an essential component to encouraging more sustainable behaviours. Through different forms of engagement, this initiative aims to inspire consumers to think more critically about what goes on their plate.
Collaborating for Good Fisheries Governance
To achieve long-term success, sustainable fisheries management requires engagement in all areas of the sector. In addition to collaborations with fishers, buyers, restaurants, and communities, we're working with maritime authorities to strengthen capacity in fisheries law to support better enforcement and more transparent monitoring. Through this comprehensive collaboration, we aim to implement an integrative fishing model that tackles the most pressing socio-environmental and economic challenges.
Empowering fishing communities
Fishers and fishmongers are the significant but vulnerable base of the fisheries sector in Cabo Verde. Sal has 3 fishery communities located on the coast: Santa Maria in the south, Palmeira in the northwest, and Pedra de Lume in the northeast. Although the main economical motor of the island is the tourism sector, these communities greatly rely on local artisanal fishing as a means of subsistence.
To create a sustainable fishing sector, we are not only working on outreach efforts, but capacity building within the fishing communities to increase livelihood, the use of sustainable tools and marine monitoring. The work has included the participative diagnosis of the association, training in governance and project management, supporting initiatives through microgrants as well providing tools that improve the livelihood and sustainable practices within the fishing communities. Part of the support includes the improvement of facilities, such as reparation of landing docks, installation of solar panels and purchase of ice machines to facilitate the work but also reduce waste.
Two initiatives within the fishing communities are leading the charge towards a fishing sector that supports conservation initiatives as well as emboldens the vulnerable groups:
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