Aquatic Wild Meat in West Africa A Briefing by OceanCare In summary Partnership and the formation of a CMS Scientific Council Aquatic Wild Meat • Endangered, threatened, protected and Working Group. other species are being over-harvested as aquatic bushmeat, for either human consumption or as bait. This growing Context problem is spread across the West African coastal region. At least manatee, five The meat of wild animals–wild meat–long has species of turtle, seven species of dolphin been a part of the staple diet of many indigenous and one species of crocodile are regularly and local communities in equatorial rainforest hunted. and savannah regions. This form of meat includes • Declining fisheries resources have caused the rise of wild meat harvest, as evidenced any non-domesticated terrestrial mammals, birds, by anecdotal information. This is impacting reptiles and amphibians that are harvested for large aquatic mammal biodiversity in the food, medicine or other traditional uses. Wild region. meat, also known as bushmeat, is often locally • There is insufficient implementation of traded for income or other community needs. regionally agreed actions, including the For generations, terrestrial and aquatic wild meat Convention on Migratory Species marine consumption has been sustainable, but modern turtle and aquatic mammal agreements. pressures and growing human population has Aquatic wild meat is ‘falling through the cracks’ between environment and fisheries changed the balance. (Milner-Gulland and Ministries, agencies and international Bennett, 2003; Brashares, et al., 2011; Cawthorn processes. and Hoffman, 2105, 2016) Changing climate, • Existing conventions, agreements and local scarcity of other meat sources and community regulations need to be implemented and displacement by industrial mining, commercial enforced. forestry, palm oil plantations and distant water • A better understanding of the scope of the industrialised fisheries has forced many problem needs to be developed. A communities into marginal areas, and their thorough assessment of aquatic wild meat reliance on wild meat has grown. on sale in markets should be conducted to collect data about the origins of the meat if Until recent decades, the intentional wild harvest specific species are being traditionally of aquatic mammals, reptiles and amphibians caught and consumed, or the reasons for was comparatively small. At least manatee, five new species harvest. This assessment can species of turtle, seven species of dolphin and reveal the drivers behind the increased one species of crocodile are now regularly aquatic wild meat harvest, incidences of hunted and consumed as aquatic wild meat. It is illegal local or international trade, where likely many more species are hunted and endangered, threatened and protected consumed as well. Some key species (manatee species are involved, and harvest levels that and marine turtles) are threatened, and the more are unsustainable. abundant species face localised extinctions due • The assessment of aquatic wild meat can to overhunting. uncover potential solutions, as well as possible incentives for change. While a small proportion of these animal • Greater coordination can be provided products enter international trade, trade is mostly through the Abidjan Aquatic Wildlife local, although often illegal. OceanCare believes this is a systemic and global 1. the Convention on Migratory Species of problem; and is hard to manage locally. Decision Wild Animals (CMS) appendices and the makers are forced to grapple with incomplete Western African regional agreements for information, as well as the insufficient connection marine turtles and marine mammals–the between environment and fisheries Ministries, Memorandum of Understanding agencies and international processes. Distant concerning Conservation Measures for Marine Turtles of the Atlantic Coast of Africa water fleets operate in regions with impunity and the Memorandum of Understanding from the chain of impact their harvests have on Concerning the Conservation of the local fishing communities. Manatee and Small Cetaceans of Western It is crucial that decision-makers are empowered Africa and Macaronesia with information about the drivers for aquatic 2. the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna wild meat harvest, the rate of consumption and (CITES) appendices the regulatory mechanisms available to them to 3. the United Nations Office on Drugs and ensure future harvests do not endanger species. Crimes (UNODC) list of species in illegal trade. An issue with no ‘home’ Anecdotal connection to Fisheries have been an important food source for many people in West Africa, but there is now declining fisheries evidence of increased hunting of aquatic wild resources meat as well. Aquatic wild meat takes don’t fit easily into There are distinct shifts in the species hunted as fisheries management, and they fall outside the fish supplies fall away and fish prices rise. Studies common focus of bushmeat discussions. The have shown correlations between the low hunting methods and catch rates differ from availability and high price of fish in markets and traditional fisheries or terrestrial bushmeat increased demand for wild meat. (Clapham and hunting. Aquatic wild meat is most often Van Waerebeek, 2007; Brashares et al., 2011; obtained by harpoon hunting, netting and by Lindsey et al., 2013) making use of stranded (dead or alive) animals. The distant-water fleet overexploitation of West As a result of the different form and focus, aquatic Africa’s fishery resource has produced wild meat takes have not been the focus of devastating social, economic and human systematic harvest investigation, although consequences. The livelihoods of artisanal fishers research indicates catch rates are increasing. are being destroyed, a vital source of protein is (Costello and Baker, 2011; Robards and Reeves, being lost, and opportunities for the 2011) development of regional production and trade are disappearing. (Watson and Brashares, 2004; Aquatic mammals and reptiles fare poorly when Daniels et al., 2016) hunted at these levels. Marine turtles are at historically low numbers and cannot withstand OceanCare doesn’t believe the rise of aquatic sustained harvest. There are significant risks of wild meat is a local fisheries management failure. over-harvest for many other aquatic reptiles. Local and national fisheries regulations are (Carranza et al., 2006; Böhm et al., 2013) Marine evolving, and this should continue, including mammals are especially susceptible to management measures to reduce accidental exploitation because of their low reproductive bycatch of aquatic mammals, reptiles and rates and many other threats they face, including amphibians. What should be considered is the habitat loss, prey declines and climate change. strong anecdotal connection to declining (Perrin et al., 2009) fisheries resources and rising aquatic wild meat harvest. The flow on impact of illegal, unreported A number of international mechanisms should be and unregulated fishing is heavily implicated in considering aquatic wild meat in the West African the increasing aquatic wild meat take. (Watson region but, to date, they have not given strategic and Brashares, 2004; Daniels et al., 2016) focus to the issue. These are: Page 2 Yet, anecdotal information is not enough. We Raising general awareness about the vulnerability need to develop a better understanding of the of many aquatic mammals, reptiles and drivers for, and the levels of, aquatic wild meat amphibians from wild meat harvest could be a take to design and implement local and national useful focus. Similarly, providing support and management programmes that can address capacity to shift gear types that mitigate aquatic unsustainable and illegal hunting and the use of mammal, reptile and amphibian bycatch would aquatic mammals, reptiles and amphibians. also be worthwhile. OceanCare believes these measures will not solve Bycatch of the same species this growing problem. Empowering West African governments with verified information to address Analysis shows that bycatch of marine mammals this problem systematically should be the focus. and turtles are widespread at a global level. Wide- We believe this should be progressed through ranging mega-fauna species such as dolphins the creation of an Abidjan Aquatic Wildlife and turtles are likely to encounter multiple fishing Partnership and a Working Group of the CMS gear types, and experience cumulative effects Scientific Council with a focus on wild meat. from multiple fisheries across the seascape. Wallace has documented the global bycatch of Abidjan Aquatic Wildlife Partnership turtles in offshore fisheries was over 9000 animals During the 12th Conference of the Parties to the between 1990 and 2008. The bycatch of turtles in Abidjan Convention, Parties requested an Abidjan local fisheries over the same period was 387. Aquatic Wildlife Partnership be formed as a non- (Wallace, et al., 2010) binding, multi-stakeholder partnership to combat Region–gear combinations showing high trade, illegal logging, direct consumption and bycatch rates, low research coverage and no other uses of endangered, threatened or publicly available bycatch reports warrant urgent protected coastal and marine species, facilitated conservation action due to the important by the Abidjan Convention Secretariat. consequences of high bycatch rates for OceanCare is pleased to be a foundation member vulnerable populations,