Rodrigues- Coastal and Marine Resources

Overview of Coastal and Marine Resources of Rodrigues

Coastline Features

Rodrigues' coastline extends approximately 67 kilometers, featuring diverse topographical elements such as 70% rocky coasts, 21% silt-clay coasts, and 9% coral sand beaches. Notable are the sandy islets, Ile aux Sables and Ile aux Cocos, which enhance the region's natural beauty and biodiversity.

Coral Reefs and Biodiversity

The island hosts the most extensive and well-preserved coral reefs within the Mascarene Islands, boasting a high living coral cover. These reefs support a vast array of marine life, including 493 fish species, 175 gastropod species, and 138 coral species. Despite this rich biodiversity, Rodrigues exhibits lower species diversity compared to neighboring regions. Annual monitoring of these reefs has revealed a concerning decline in coral cover, primarily due to rising sea temperatures and human activities. In response, initiatives like the coral planting program have been launched to rehabilitate and strengthen the resilience of these vital ecosystems.

Environmental Sensitivity and Challenges

Protected Areas

Significant portions of Rodrigues' lagoon ecosystem, which includes coral reefs, seagrass beds, and algal beds, are classified as environmentally sensitive and are crucial for maintaining ecological balance.

Mangroves

The thriving mangroves of Rodrigues play a crucial role in enhancing the island's ecological stability, facing minimal anthropogenic threats.

Threats to Marine Resources

The marine resources of Rodrigues are in continuous decline, influenced by pollution, sedimentation, harmful fishing practices, and poorly planned coastal construction. Natural phenomena like cyclones and climate change further exacerbate overfishing and habitat degradation.

Marine Resource Management and Conservation

Legislative and Management Challenges

Management efforts to safeguard Rodrigues' marine environment are often fragmented and lack sufficient capacity, posing significant challenges to effective conservation.

Fishing Practices and Impacts

Local fishing methods frequently harm coral structures and algal matting, leading to reduced fish sizes and overall catches despite intensified fishing efforts. The octopus fishery, in particular, has experienced significant stock fluctuations, with sharp declines in the early 2010s. A management strategy that included implementing a closed fishing season from August 15 to October 15, aligning with the octopus spawning season, has successfully enhanced both the size and quantity of catches, showcasing effective resource management.

Research, Monitoring, and Enforcement Gaps

Monitoring and Control

Effective Monitoring, Control, and Surveillance (MCS) are hampered by weak enforcement of legal measures and insufficient human resources, allowing illegal fishing practices to persist.

Research and Data Shortages

There is an acute shortage of technical personnel and facilities for research, particularly in collecting baseline data on mangrove biodiversity, which is essential for informed management decisions.

Policy Needs and Future Directions

Policy Gaps

Rodrigues requires comprehensive policies to address issues like lagoon sedimentation from construction activities and to enhance the management of marine reserves.

Sustainable Practices

Promoting sustainable fishing practices, such as outer lagoon fishing and the use of Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs), along with improving management of marine protected areas, is essential for reducing environmental impacts and promoting long-term sustainability.

Conclusions and Future Directions

The coastal and marine resources of Rodrigues are invaluable to the island’s economy and ecological health. Ensuring the sustainability of these resources hinges on continuous monitoring, adaptive management, and strong community engagement. Future efforts should focus on enhancing ecosystem resilience through comprehensive policy measures and increased stakeholder participation, ensuring the preservation of Rodrigues' unique marine and coastal environments. This balanced approach must accommodate both conservation and development needs to maintain the island's ecological integrity.

Marine protected areas in Rodrigues 

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1

• Rebranding of the different sectors to meet the management and policy objectives.
  • Provide appropriate facilities (equipment and infrastructure) for upgrading each sector.
  • Review the sector's organisational structure to enhance proper management, administration, and research development.
• Harmonise the efforts for a holistic management, conservation and protection of the marine resources.
  • Promote collaboration with AFRC, MOI, NGOs, and other relevant institutions.
  • Strengthen research, data collection, information sharing and dissemination of results.
  • Improve coordination mechanism and consultative process.
  • Build the technical capacity of all stakeholders to enhance the protection and conservation of marine resources.
  • Promote and support alternative livelihoods for the fisher communities, such as sustainable marine culture development.

2

• Establish a proper capacity-building programme for both government officers and the fishing community.
  • Stocktaking of the training gaps of Government officers and fishers for facilitating the development of tailor-made capacity-building programmes.
  • Development/ elaboration of a training programme for Government officers and fishers.
  • Evaluation of the impacts of the training.
  • Awareness raising campaign for the fisher community to promote in-lagoon and off-lagoon fisheries protection and conservation.
  • Establishment of the human capital requirement for proper management of the marine and fisheries resources.

3

• Recruitment of key human resources, including scientific staff.
  • Review of the existing organisational set up of the Fisheries Division and identify gaps for effective implementation of policies.
  • Strengthen human resources capacity.
• Provide an environment that enables the Fisheries Division to conduct scientific research work.
  • The setting of appropriate infrastructure for research, including laboratory.
  • Providing key sectors with the necessary equipment.
  • Enter into an MOU with relevant local and regional institutions to facilitate the transfer of knowledge and know-how.
  • Enhance greater cooperation with the AFRC, the MOI and other regional and international research centres.

4

• Develop and implement sustainable fishing management plans.
• Review and update policy and regulatory framework.