Cultural Importance and Decline of Sawfish (Pristidae) Populations In

Cultural importance and decline of sawﬁsh (Pristidae) populations in West Africa

Marine ROBILLARD (1) & Bernard SÉRET (2)

A B S T R A C T. - For a few decades, the decline of sawfish populations has been observed in all parts of their distribution range. Sawfishes are particularly sensitive to exploitation and habitat destruction because of their large size and their coastal and riverine habitats. In West Africa, sawfishes were relatively common in the past, but nowadays, they are rarely caught or observed. A group of West African countries, under the leadership of the Commission sous-régionale des Pêches, was willing to submit an application for the listing of the sawfishes in CITES appendix 1. This caused the necessity to assess the present status of the species and populations of sawﬁshes occurring in West Africa, and to collect data on the cultural importance of the sawfishes for some ethnic groups. In this scope, a field study was carried out from March to June 2005, in Mauritania, Senegal, Gambia Guinea Bissau, and Guinea Conakry. This study confirms the strong contraction of the distribution range of sawfishes in West Africa: they are mainly limited to the Bissagos Archipelago (Guinea Bissau), where cultural practices related to sawfish symbolism are still in use. A description of the rostrums observed during this survey is provided.

RÉSUMÉ. - Importance culturelle et état des populations de poissons-scies (Pristidae) en Afrique de l’Ouest. Depuis quelques décennies, le déclin des populations de poissons-scies est observé dans l’ensemble de leurs aires de répartition. Les poissons-scies sont particulièrement sensibles à l’exploitation du fait de leur grande taille, et à la destruction de leurs habitats dans les zones côtières et estuariennes qu’ils affectionnent particulièrement. En Afrique de l’Ouest, les poissons-scies étaient relativement communs dans le passé, mais aujourd’hui, ils sont rarement capturés ou observés. Un groupe de pays ouest-africains, mené par la Commission sous-régionale des Pêches, souhaitait soumettre une demande d’inscription des poissons-scies en annexe 1 de la CITES. Cela exigeait de déterminer le statut des espèces de poissons- scies présentes en Afrique de l’Ouest, et de collecter les données sur leur importance culturelle dans les différentes ethnies. C’est dans ce cadre qu’une étude de terrain a été réalisée entre mars et juin 2005 en Mauritanie, au Sénégal, en Gambie, en Guinée-Bissau et en Guinée Conakry. Cette étude a confirmé la forte réduction de la distribution géographique des poissons-scies en Afrique de l’Ouest : ils sont principalement limités à l’archipel des Bijagos (Guinée-Bissau), dans lequel les pratiques culturelles relatives au symbolisme des poissons-scies sont toujours usage. Une description des rostres observés au cours de cette étude est donnée.

Key words. - Sawﬁshes - Pristidae - West Africa.

Following the recommendations of the FAO related to proposal for the inclusion of the whole family of sawfishes the conservation and management of shark populations (Pristidae) on Annex I of CITES, was launched in early 2004 (FAO, 1999), the West African countries of the regional fish- so that the proposal could be presented at the 13th conference ery organisation “Commission sous-régionale des Pêches” of the parties to be held in Bangkok in October 2004. For (CSRP) based in Dakar (Senegal) has established a shark that purpose, the CSRP entrusted the second author (BS) and action programme for the conservation of the elasmobranch his conservationist colleague Sarah Fowler to prepare the fishes in West Africa (PSRA-Requins). This programme was proposal document (PRCM, 2004). Although the document launched in 2002 in the frame of the Regional Conservation was ready on time, it was not transmitted to the CITES sec- Programme for the Coastal and Marine zone of West A f r i c a retariat due to lobbying by some Asian country representa- (PRCM). In order to implement the PSRA, national sub-pro- tives at high political levels in some CSRP countries. grammes (PAN-requins) have been adopted in every country Despite this failure, the PSRA sawfish project has been of the CSRP: Mauritania, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, ongoing with the goal to inventory the cultural importance Cape Verde, Guinea Conakry and Sierra Leone. and the state of the populations of sawfishes in the countries In the implementation of these programmes, it appeared of the CSRP. The first author (MR) along with another stu- that the sawfishes should have high priority in the conserva- dent of the Geneva University (Candice Yvon) were selected tion measures since they have been less and less caught or to carry out a field study aiming to collect these data and observed in West Africa. As a result, a project to submit a information. The results of this study were included in a

(1) Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, “Département Homme, Nature et Sociétés”, 4 rue Cuvier, 75231 Paris CEDEX 05, FRANCE. (2) Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Département Systématique et Évolution, UMS 602 “Taxonomie et Collections”, 55 rue Buffon, 75231 Paris CEDEX 05, FRANCE [[email protected]]

Cybium 2006, 30(4) suppl.: 23-30. West African sawfishes ROBILLARD & SÉRET memoir of master degree defended by the first author (Robil- tatives following the methods defined by Blanchet and lard, 2005). The major findings are herein presented. Gottman (1992). In general, these persons were the chiefs of the villages, the managers of the fishing harbours, the fis h e r- men involved in fisheries targeting sharks and the oldest METHODS fishermen. Also different stakeholders in shark processing and marketing were interviewed. Survey The interviews lasted between 30 minutes and 2 hours The survey was carried out from March to June 2004 in depending on the availability of the persons. They were five out of the 7 countries of the CRSP: Mauritania, Senegal, structured based on a questionnaire, but in the context of nat- Gambia, Guinea Bissau and Republic of Guinea. (Fig. 1) . ural conversation. Also, drawings were used to guide the dis- The main landing places were visited in these countries, cussions. When French or English were not understood, the national representative translated into local languages.

Data on rostrums During the survey, rostrums were observed in public and private collections. They were measured, photographed and tissue samples were taken for genetic analysis (aimed to Vicente Faria). The species were identified according to Séret (in press). The measurements taken on the rostrums are illustrated on ﬁgure 2 and are after Vicente Faria (pers. com.).

Figure 2. - Measurements taken on rostrums of sawﬁshes. [Mesures prises sur les rostres de poissons-scies.]

RESULTS

Description of the rostrums A total of 28 saws were observed (Tab. I) in the five countries visited, belonging to two species: the smalltooth sawfish Pristis pectinata Latham, 1794 and the larg e t o o t h sawfish Pristis micro d o n Latham, 1794. The saws were all dried and some were in a bad state of preservation with some Table I. - Number of dried rostrums observed in public and private Figure 1. - Map of West Africa where the survey was carried out. collections in the ﬁve West African countries visited during the sur- [Carte de l’Afrique de l’Ouest où l’étude a été menée.] v e y. [ N o m b re de ro s t res secs observés dans les collections publiques et privées dans les cinq pays ouest-africains visités au cours de l’étude.] along with some fishing villages and processing areas. In every country, the national representative of the PSRA p r o- vided assistance and logistical support, and their national reports (PAN) were used to select the landing sites to be visited (Doumbouya, 204; Ndiaye, 2004; Saine, 2004).

Interviews Most of the persons interviewed during the survey had been identiﬁed with the help of the national PSRA r e p r e s e n-

24 Cybium 2006, 30(4) suppl. ROBILLARD & SÉRET West African sawﬁshes

Figure 3. - Sawfish rostrums observed in Musée de la mer (IFA N , Gorée, Senegal) in December 2004 (Photo BS). [ R o s t res de poissons- scies observés au Musée de la mer ( I FAN, Gorée, Sénégal) en décem - bre 2004 (Photo BS).] rostral teeth lacking. Those kept in the Musée de la mer in Gorée (Institut fondamental d’Afrique noire - IFAN) were mainly collected by Jean Cadenat in the 1950s, and today they are in very bad condition (Fig. 3). They were invento- ried in December 2004 by the second author (BS). Only 5 of the 9 saws were found in May 2005 when the first author (MR) visited IFAN. The capture data and main characteris- tics of the saws (number of rostral teeth and main measurements) are given in table II A, B, C. Figure 4. - Rostrum of the sawfish Pristis micro d o n caught in Guinea Bissau in 2004 (Photo MB). [ R o s t re de poisson-scie P r i s t i s microdon capturé en Guinée Bissau en 2004 (Photo MB).] West African populations According to the fishermen interviewed in the five coun- (Guinea Conakry). They started to disappear about 30 years tries visited, sawfishes were common in the past, i.e. a few ago, from northern Senegal southwards. decades ago. Catches were regular with one or two individu- The last records of sawfishes in West Africa are listed in als per net, but sometimes up to 10 individuals could be table III. The last recorded capture was in 2004 in Guinea caught in a net. The catches were better in certain areas: at Bissau, where a large specimen of P. microdon was caught in Tidra (Mauritania), in Casamance (southern Senegal), in the the canal of Baloma, then landed in Elinkine, southern Sene- Bissago archipelago (Guinea Bissau), and in Kamsar gal (Fig. 4). In Guinea Bissau, the fishermen reported regular catches but it was impossible to verify these due to lack Table III. - Years of last records of sawfishes caught in West African of objective clues (saws, photos). In the same way, catches countries obtained from interviews during the survey. [Années des derniers signalements de poissons-scies capturés dans les pays were reported from Sierra Leone but this country was not ouest-africains, données obtenues à partir d’enquêtes faites au visited during the survey. cours de l’étude.] Cultural importance In the five countries visited, a total of 135 interviews were performed, sampling 13 ethnic groups living in the littoral zone (Tab. IV). The diversity of these groups illustrates the great mobility of the fisherman communities. During the survey, observations were recorded on the relationships between the ethnic groups of fishermen and the sawfishes. These relationships vary according to the ethnic group and by generation.

Cybium 2006, 30(4) suppl. 25 West African sawﬁshes ROBILLARD & SÉRET

Economical relationships Mazet, 1933). Also, the development of tourist activities in Although there was no general taboo regarding to the West Africa contributed to increased captures of sawfishes consumption of sawfish flesh, except among some ethnic in order to sell their saws as natural curios to foreign visi- groups (Serer, Wolof and Peul), there were no traditional t o r s . t a rgeted ﬁsheries for them. The ﬂesh was salted and dried or The Central Bank of the West African States (BCEAO) smoked, to be exported to other African countries. Howev- had chosen a stylized sawfish as the symbol of the common e r, with the growing demand dor “shark fin” in Asian mar- currency the CFA Franc, because its mythological value of kets during the 1980s, sawfishes became highly desired, as prosperity and fecundity in West Africa. The design is fig- their large fins are deemed the most in the trade (Young and ured on coins and bank notes (Fig. 5). The BCEAO emblem

Table II. - Data on sawﬁsh rostrums observed in the ﬁve West African countries visited during the survey. [Données sur les rostres de pois - sons-scies observés dans les cinq pays ouest-africains visités au cours de l’étude.]

26 Cybium 2006, 30(4) suppl. ROBILLARD & SÉRET West African sawﬁshes

Table II. - Continued. [Suite.]

Table IV. - Number of interviews by ethnic group obtained in the five We s t Magical and religious relationships African countries visited during the survey. [ N o m b re d’interviews par groupe éthnique réalisés dans les cinq pays ouest-africains visités au cours In Guinea Bissau, the Bijagos constitute a littoral de l’étude.] community in the Bijago archipelago. They are structured in age groups, the adolescents, named the “Cabaro”, being an important component in the com- m u n i t y. They have totemic animals symbolizing the forces of the Nature (Earth, Sea) such as the ox, the hammerhead shark and the sawfish. Dances and ceremonies related to sawfish symbolism have been maintained in the Bijago community. Some dances are related to ritual manhood initiation ceremonies. For these dances, the Cabaros wear triangular wooden masks topped by the real rostrum of a young sawfish but today, this is replaced by a wooden model (Fig. 7) as sawfishes have become rare. The decline of sawfishes corresponds to the development of tar- geted shark fisheries in the area by foreign fis h e r m e n coming from Senegal and Guinea. In the Republic of Guinea, the rostrums of sawfishes were displayed in the living places of houses to show visitors the courage of their owners. The more saws were on display, the more brave was their owner. In Gambia, rostrums are hung up on hut roofs to protect family compounds against catastrophe and depicts a bronze weight formely used by the Akan and notably against fire. They were also set in cattle pens, Baoule tribes (Ghana, Ivory Coast) for commercial attached to a central stake, to protect the livestock. exchanges of gold powder (Fig. 6). While superficially simi- In Casamance (southern Senegal), sawfishes are totemic lar to another common Akan motif, the silurid catfish, the animals symbolising strength for the Diola peoples. The ros- sawfish weight can be distinguished by its long, thin snout; trum has been used as a powerful weapon; it has the magical the catfish has a broad, rounded head, in contrast (Niango- power to protect homes or cattle, and was also used for med- ran-Bouah, 1987). ical treatments.

Cybium 2006, 30(4) suppl. 27 West African sawﬁshes ROBILLARD & SÉRET

Figure 5. - Bank note of 1000 CFA Francs with the representation of a sawfish (Photo BS). [Billet de banque de 1000 Francs CFA avec la représentation d’un poisson-scie (Photo BS).]

Figure 7. - Ritual mask used during manhood ritual ceremonies in the Bissago Archipelago, Guinea Bissau (Coll. & photo BS). [Masque rituel utilisé au cours des cérémonies d’initation des jeunes hommes dans l’archipel des Bissago, Guinée Bissau (Coll. & photo BS).]

cases, it seems sawfishes were considered with some “humanity” as the female was called the “woman”, the male “its husband” and the pups “kids”, and very old male was treated with respect in the ﬁght to catch it as “ You need to get Figure 6. - A Baoulé gold weight in shape of a “sawfish” (Coll. & photo BS).[Un poids baoulé à peser l’or en forme de “poisson- the saw, when you get it, you got the force” (Conty, 1993). scie” (Coll. & photo BS).]

Vernacular names of sawfishes DICUSSION - CONCLUSION Vernacular names of sawfishes used in West Africa have been reported by Séret (1981) and Séret (in press). A f e w The suspected critical status of the West African sawfish- other names were collected during the recent survey and es has been noted elsewhere (Carvalho et al., in press; Séret, were phonetically transcribed. Table V gives a compilation of 1990; Séret, in press), the present survey confirms the dra- all these names by ethnic group, language or dialect and matic situation of sawfish populations in West Africa. In c o u n t r y. In many cases, the dialect is named after the ethnic unpublished notes given to the second author (BS), Jean group who use it. Serer and Diola peoples have diff e r e n t Cadenat (founder of Musée de la mer in Gorée in the 1950’s) names for sawfishes according to the size of the fish, indicat- reports that he measured 108 specimens of P. pectinata f r o m ing the importance of these fishes in their culture. In some Mauritania, Senegal (mainly Joal and Casamance), Guinea,

28 Cybium 2006, 30(4) suppl. ROBILLARD & SÉRET West African sawﬁshes

Table V. - Vernacular names of sawfishes in West African languages and dialects, collect- In the Western Atlantic, the intrinsic ed during the survey and from the literature. [Noms vernaculaires des poissons-scies dans growth rate of the population of P. pecti - les langues et dialectes ouest-africains, collectés au cours de l’étude et dans la littéra - ture.] n a t a was estimated between 0.08 and 0.13 and that of P. pero t t e t i b e t w e e n 0.05 and 0.07 (Simpfendorfer, 2000), meaning that it would take 5.4 to 8.5 years for the population of P. pectinata to double and 10.3 to 13.7 years for that of P. pero t t e t i to double in ideal condi- tions (including no fishing mortality.). There is an urgent need to take strong conservation measures to protect the few limited areas where the sawfis h- es are still remaining in West A f r i c a . They have become so rare that it is diffi- cult to collect data on them. Areas that could not be visited during the survey (e.g. Sierra Leone) should be explored u rgently to appraise the status of sawfishes throughout West Africa. A l s o , countries outside the CSRP r e g i o n should be visited (e.g. Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Gabon). Empirical knowledge of these fishes still exists among some ethnic groups probably because “living memories” of them are still there; they have been following these traditions to survive. How- e v e r, witnesses alive when sawfishes were common will also disappear. Thus, the Bijago culture might disappear along with its totemic fish. Nowadays, Ivory Coast and Nigeria, with sizes varying from 158 to 463 various programmes (e.g. IUCN, 2000) have been undertak- cm TL, and 12 specimens of P. micro d o n ranging in size en to conserve both the cultural diversity of West A f r i c a , from 89 to 700 cm TL from the same areas. along with its zoological biodiversity. In this scope, the con- Sawfishes have been disappearing dramatically in We s t cept of «cultural species » arose and has been used as a con- Africa and their distribution has shrunken to very limited servation tool. The cultural importance of sawfishes had and remote areas within the three last decades. The reasons already been outlined by McDavitt (1996). In West A f r i c a , are diverse but the most probable are the unregulated fish- the decline of sawfish populations has caused changes in the eries, and the degradation and destruction of their habitats. relationships between human communities and their totemic Sawfishes are very vulnerable because of their large size and fish. For example, the transmission of the empirical knowl- their littoral habitats; they also penetrate far upstream into edge and rituals have been somewhat weakened. Tribal cul- rivers where they are easily caught. Once common in the tures like the Bijago traditionally achieved balance in the rivers Senegal and Gambia, they are no longer reported from environment through ceremonies to maintain contact with these rivers, areas where human populations have greatly life-giving ancestors. The Bijago now face new challenges increased in the last decades. The decline of sawfish popula- from outside their society, which threaten to deplete both tions has also been observed in other regions of their world- their environment and their cultural identity. The conserva- wide distribution (Compagno and Cook, 1995; Zorzi, 1995; tion of tribal societies along West A f r i c a ’s coast along with Adams and Wilson, 1996; Adams, 2005;). The Indo-Pacific the protection of their culturally important animals (like populations P. pectinata and P. micro d o n, have been includ- sawfishes) will depend upon continued actions undertaken ed on the IUCN Red List and the critical status of all the by conservationists and environmentalists from western species has been reported for most of their populations countries, as well as the actions of local governments in (Fowler et al., 2005). policing pirate fishing. Should these external desires inter-

Cybium 2006, 30(4) suppl. 29 West African sawfishes ROBILLARD & SÉRET fere with the natural evolution of West African cultures? The FOWLER S.L., CAMHI M., BURGESS G.H., CAILLIET G . M . , conservation of the sawfishes could not be considered with- FORDHAM S.V, CAVANAGH R.D., SIMPFENDORFER C.A. & J.A. MUSICK, 2005. - Sharks, Rays and Chimaeras: out the close collaboration of the littoral communities who, The Status of the Chondrichthyan Fishes. 461 p. Gland, Swit- once, made them their totemic fish. zerland and Cambridge, UK: IUCN Shark Specialist Group. IUCN, 2000. - Plan directeur de Recherche, Synthèse et État de la Acknowledgments. - The authors thank the following persons who Recherche sur la Réserve de la Biosphère Bolama Bijago. Par- make possible the project: Antoine Cadi (Noé Conservation) and tie 2. 57 p. Gland, Switzerland & Cambridge, UK: IUCN. Mika Diop (CSRP), Candice Yvon (University of Geneva), M.-C. M C D AV I T T M., 1996. - The cultural and economic importance of C o r m i e r-Salem (MNHN) and the West African colleagues who sawfishes (family Pristidae). Shark News, 8: 10-11. provided useful assistance during the field survey: Duarte Buccal, Lamine and Mame-Marie Camara, Framoudou Doumbouya, N D I AYE O., 2004. - Rapport sur les poisson-scies et quelques Moussa Keita, Oumar M’Bodje, Asber Mendy, Mohamed Niang, espèces de requins menacés. Dakar, Sénégal: Direction des Babacar Sembene, Awa Watt and the staff of Oceanium in Dakar. Pêches Maritimes & CSRP. The project was supported by a grant of “Noé Conservation” to NIANGORAN-BOUAH G., 1984-1987. - L’univers Akan des MB. Special thanks are due to M. McDewitt for his meaningful poids à peser l’or. Vol. 1: Les poids non figuratifs. Vol. 2: Les review of the manuscript. poids figuratifs, 320 p. Vol. 3: Les poids dans la société, 328 p. Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire: Les Nouvelles Éditions africaines. 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