SIT Graduate Institute/SIT Study Abroad SIT Digital Collections Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection SIT Study Abroad Spring 2017 The iF sh Community of Misali Island: Recommendations for Conservation Management and Implications for Mixed-Use Conservation Areas Stuart Jones SIT Study Abroad Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/isp_collection Part of the African Studies Commons, Aquaculture and Fisheries Commons, Biodiversity Commons, Environmental Monitoring Commons, Environmental Studies Commons, Oceanography Commons, and the Sustainability Commons Recommended Citation Jones, Stuart, "The iF sh Community of Misali Island: Recommendations for Conservation Management and Implications for Mixed- Use Conservation Areas" (2017). Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection. 2617. https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/isp_collection/2617 This Unpublished Paper is brought to you for free and open access by the SIT Study Abroad at SIT Digital Collections. It has been accepted for inclusion in Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection by an authorized administrator of SIT Digital Collections. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Fish Community of Misali Island: Recommendations for Conservation Management and Implications for Mixed-Use Conservation Areas Stuart Jones Advisor: Dr. Narriman Jiddawi Academic Director: Dr. Richard Walz SIT Spring 2017 Zanzibar: Coastal Ecology and Natural Resource Management Table of Contents: Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………………3 Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………4 Introduction……………………………………………………………………………..5 Site Selection…………………………………………………………………………..9 Methods………………………………………………………………………………...14 Data……………………………………………………………………………………..17 Discussion……………………………………………………………………………...25 Recommendations…………………………………………………………………….29 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………...35 Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………….37 Fish List…………………………………………………………………………………39 Acknowledgements: This study would not have been possible without the logistical assistance, expert advice, and moral-boosting support from a number of people on the ground in Zanzibar. First I’d like to thank Said, Richard, and the SIT office staff for their support throughout my time in Zanzibar, and Dr. Richard, Dr. Jiddawi, and Dr. Richmond for their advice on picking, planning, and executing this project. I’d also like to thank the Misali park rangers, Mohammed, Juma, and Hamiss, for their welcome, their generosity, and their support during our time on Misali. We couldn’t have survived on that island for a week without them, and I everything I was able to accomplish to their help and kindness. Special thanks to Jeremy for bravely watching over me during transects from your black rubber throne. You radiated warmth, safety and security that I could feel all the way under the water. Shout out to Kendrick Lamar, Adu’s brother, mangoes, and the crunchy crew for making my time on Misali so enjoyable. Abstract: Misali, an uninhabitated island near Pemba Island off the Tanzanian Coast, is a historic biodiversity hotspot and was at one point home to 80% of the coral species in East Africa. However, it has been nearly 10 years since any formal, published study has examined the fish or coral communities around the island, and new information is needed to inform local conservationists and fisheries managers. It was discovered that, despite a severe bleaching event in 1998 with (80% mortality) and long-term budgetary neglect, Misali’s fish community has remained fairly healthy and diverse, with over 200 species of fish observed within the limited scope of the survey area. An analysis of ordinance and beta diversity also strongly suggests that the island is home to a wide variety of habitats with distinct fish assemblages, and that the fully protected but unenforced non-extraction zone (NEZ) encompasses only one small part of the diversity of the greater Misali ecosystem. Futhermore, this zone is home to the highest abundances of fish, including several important commercial families. The NEZ’s current boundaries, therefore, are not only insufficient to protect the largest possible swath of diversity on the island, but also imposing an undue burden on local fisherman by depriving them of the most productive fishing ground. If these boundaries were more stringently enforced, these regulations may also endanger Misali’s fish stocks by concentrating fishing pressure on the other areas that may have been least able to support it. This study recommends that further research be done on the biodiversity and distinct habitats within Misali, and that the boundaries of the NEZ then be redrawn to encompass more of this diversity while opening up part of the current NEZ, and its productive fisheries, to local artisanal use. Introduction: Coral reefs are among the most diverse and productive ecosystems on Earth, and are known around the world for their rich and colorful animal life and their spectacular beauty. Less appreciated, though, are the benefits and ecosystem services that coral reefs provide to local communities almost everywhere that reefs and humans coincide. In the Zanzibar Archipelago, located in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Tanzania in East Africa, healthy coral reefs form the foundation of local industries, diets, cultures, and communities. Fish from coral reefs provide employment for thousands of local fisherman and a crucial protein source to most of the island’s inhabitants. The renowned beauty of coral reefs also attracts scores of foreign divers and tourists, whose dollars and euros flow into the local economy. These crucial sources of income, employment, and resources are crucial to the health and continued development of communities from those as large and cosmopolitan as Stone Town in Zanzibar and as small and local as Wesha in southern Pemba. Without these reefs, many communities, especially smaller and poorer fishing communities, could not survive. The loss of coral reefs, even in just one area, would therefore be not only an ecological disaster, but also an economic and human disaster as well. It is therefore of great interest to local people and governments to protect and conserve healthy coral reefs, not only for their biodiversity, but also to protect and stimulate development of local communities. In Zanzibar, numerous Marine Parks and conservation areas have been implemented in the last twenty years as this importance to locals has been realized. However, as Zanzibar and Africa in general develops, more and more coral reefs have come under threat, and many reefs with poorly enforced or absent protections have been perhaps irreparably degraded. Global climate change has played a part, with coral bleaching a widespread and ever present threat, even to protected reefs. However, the costs of the onward march of development and explosive population growth have arguably had a greater toll in the region, particularly near major population centers. More development means more waste, more foreign visitors, more coastal development, more people, more mouths to feed, more men in need of work, and more lines in the water, and in many cases reefs have been unable to keep up. Many reefs have been polluted by solid and human wastes coming from towns and cities, and overfishing and destructive fishing practices have taken their toll as catches have increased to keep pace with demand. While responsible and well-planned tourism can offer an alternative source of income and incentivize conservation, the increase in foreign visitors can also be a double edged sword. Tourism brings more money but it also brings more trash, more pollution, and more damage from careless fins and feet. However, while Zanzibar and Dar es-Salaam have developed aggressively over the last twenty years, many areas of the Tanzanian coast remain rural, and even unprotected reefs remain fairly healthy. One such area is Pemba Island, north of Zanzibar. While Pemba’s population has grown substantially in the last 20 years, the island still remains fairly rural, and its population is just a fraction of that of Zanzibar Island, despite the two being roughly the same size. Pemba is also subject to much lower levels of tourism than Zanzibar, as it lacks an international airport and therefore requires an extra flight after arriving in Tanzania. While there are many noteworthy hotels and resorts on the island, these tend to follow the high-cost low- number model of tourism more than the hotels and resorts of Zanzibar. In Pemba, fewer, richer, and more conscientious tourists pay higher costs, which both decreases the environmental impact of tourism through reduced volume and allows hotels and businesses more room in their finances to adopt more sustainable practices. The island is renowned for its SCUBA diving, and its coral reefs, particularly those in the Pemba Island Conservation Area, remain fairly healthy. One such reef is that around Misali Island. Officially protected in 1998, Misali was incorporated into the larger Pemba Channel Conservation Area in 2005 (Richmond and Muhando 2001). Misali reef is a historic biodiversity hotspot, hosting over two-thirds of all coral genera in East Africa (Horrill et al 1994), and providing a home for marine mammals, vervet monkeys, flying foxes, and coconut crabs, as well as an important nesting site for Hawksbill turtles. Despite a catastrophic bleaching event in 1998, with coral mortality from 60-90%, (Grimsditch et al 2009, Muhando 1999), the islands reefs have bounced