Integrating Resource Perception, Ecological Surveys, and Fisheries Statistics: A Review of the Fisheries in Zanzibar
Jennifer Rehren, Melita Samoilys, Hauke Reuter, Narriman Jiddawi, Matthias Wolff
Abstract
Most tropical small-scale fishing communities, like those of Zanzibar (Tanzania), strongly depend on fisheries resources for income and protein supply. Although imperative, the evaluation of fisheries performance indicators for adequate management is often challenging given the data-poor nature of most of these fisheries. This study reviews the current literature and integrates findings from annual fisheries statistics, the perceptions of fishers, and ecological surveys to provide a holistic understanding of the fisheries exploitation level in Zanzibar. Most reviewed studies focused on the perception of fishers and ecological surveys, and only a few conducted any form of fisheries assessment. While the perception of fishers suggests resource overexploitation, officially reported catch data rather suggest a state around full exploitation for most resources. Ecological surveys indicate overexploitation of several target fish stocks for the west coast of Unguja Island. This study indicates that the perception of fishers and aggregated catch statistics should not be used as the only source of information when assessing data-poor, multispecies fisheries. Furthermore, indicators from ecological surveys should be compared to reference points and related to fishing effort to inform fisheries managers better. The here used approach highlights that integrating local knowledge, fisheries-dependent and independent information helps to identify areas and taxonomic groups of highest concern and guides future research efforts toward contributing better information for the management of data-poor fisheries.