News
The Stop Illegal Fishing Interview with the Honourable Minister Ratolojanahary
Madagascar was once a haven for pirates. Minister Ratolojanahary explains to Gilles Hosch, of the Stop Illegal Fishing Programme, how Madagascar now excels in the area of monitoring, control and surveillance.
Madagascar is a country with a huge coast, over 5 000 kilometres long, and an Exclusive Economic Zone of nearly 1.8 million square kilometres. "Moreover, Madagascar is an island, so it means that fishing holds a very important place in the economy of Madagascar." Fishing is also a vital source of foreign currency; in 2005 fisheries contributed 8% to the country’s GDP.
Traditional fishing is a way of life for an estimated 100 000 people who live and work in the 1 250 coastal communities in Madagascar. This coastal population is growing in number as in the south of the island there is virtually no agriculture and fishing is the means by which people survive.
Minister Ratolojanahary relates that "pirogues are still largely used by families or groups of families. The pirogues provide the means for those families to secure a source of income, at times the only source of income in some coastal areas of Madagascar. Among the fishermen in the south, for example, there is an ethnic group that we call the vhezus who specialise in fishing. In Madagascar fishing holds an important place socially and as far as food security is concerned."
The major commercial fishery sector of Madagascar is that of the prawn fisheries on the west coast. Prawns accounted for a total production of 11 200 tonnes in 2004, with prawn exports accounting for over 78% of the export value of fish and fish products.
The tuna fisheries in Madagascar centre around the northern port of Antsiranana.
The last 20 years has seen the development of Madagascar’s industrial fisheries. Madagascar "nowadays has various fisheries access agreements, either with the EU, or with other countries, or even with private companies. These are for the tuna fisheries and we are also developing other fishing industries."
The EU Fisheries Partnership Agreement covers a six-year period from 2007 to the end of 2012. It came at a cost of Euro1.2 million to the EU and allows vessels, mainly from Spain, Portugal, Italy and France to fish in the Malagasy waters, and is part of the network of tuna fisheries agreements in the Indian Ocean.
The tuna fisheries of Madagascar are dominated by foreign fishing vessels, namely, European purse seiners some of which use Antsiranana as a base for unloading, with most of their catch going to the Peche et Froid Ocean Indien (PFOI) processing plant situated near the port with some trans-shipment, Asian longliners and some semi-industrial fleets based in Reunion.
Concerns have been raised regarding the relationship between the amount paid for fishing licenses and access agreements and the operational profits that can in principle be made by purse seiner and longliner vessels fishing in Madagascan waters. It appears that, given the number of tuna fishing vessels operating in Madagascan waters, much of the value added storage, port dues and vessel expenditure is captured by other ports in the region and by onboard or onshore processing of high quality tuna by Asian vessels for Asian markets.
On illegal fishing
Minister Ratolojanahary points out that "illegal fishing is a global phenomenon that affects first and foremost developing countries. In Madagascar, we also face this problem of illegal fishing; it is really harmful for our national economy. There is an important loss of resources, and there is also an important loss of income, as well as a loss regarding tax from fisheries because of this illegal fishing." Madagascar not only faces problems in its distant water fishery areas which are difficult to patrol, but also in its traditional fisheries as the excessive levels of fishing effort associated with the free and open access nature of small scale fisheries are causing serious resource and economic problems.
The intense competition for the resources among small scale fishers and between large and small scale fishers are resulting in declining catch per unit effort, diminishing economic returns from fishing operations, and the over-exploitation of the resources. The need for many fishers to catch fish to earn a living and to survive is compelling many small scale fishers to resort to illegal fishing practices. It is reported that these illegal fishing practices are increasing at an alarming rate, with serious negative impacts on the resources and the ecosystems on which they depend.
National Plan of Action to prevent, deter and eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (NPOA-IUU) fishing
Madagascar has been heavily involved in fisheries monitoring, control and surveillance from the late 1990s onwards. In fact, Madagascar is a leading country in the region in this field. This year, Madagascar decided to follow the call of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), and to develop its own National Plan of Action to fight Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing.
Minister Ratolojanahary makes it clear that "by developing our NPOA-IUU now, it shows the world that in Madagascar we give priority to protecting our fisheries resources, and that we would like to improve our protection of these resources that are so very important to the national economy, and also for the Madagascan people of today and the coming generations. We hope that this National Plan of Action will have positive effects and will improve many aspects of the fisheries protection service in Madagascar."
In 2007, Madagascar entered into the process of updating and harmonising its legal framework, together with the nearby countries in the Indian Ocean. Minister Ratolojanahary identifies the need for close regional cooperation. "I think that when one’s country is an island, and that when the means available are insufficient, one should coordinate with the nearby countries and thus, maximise the benefits that are available to you."
Minister Ratolojanahary is also keen to see the harmonisation of the legal frameworks. "Let’s take the example of offences and fines. Fines should be on the same level in different countries. It is problematic when one country applies a fine that is less than the others, and which has no effect on offences committed by ship owners. Harmonisation in this field is very important. We think that it will improve and reinforce the fight against IUU fishing in the region."
Monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) and regional cooperation
Minister Ratolojanahary explains that "in the 1990s Madagascar brought the Fisheries Protection Office into operation, together with other MCS facilities, with the help of Madagascar’s technical and financial partners, most particularly the EU and the Agence Francaise pour le Developpement (AFD). The Indian Ocean Commission (IOC), of which Madagascar is a member, is home to two MCS projects. One of these projects works in the field of MCS capacity building in the region among the member countries of the IOC, while the other project represents a centre of coordination of the countries in the region for aerial active surveillance and marine surveillance."
Minister Ratolojanahary believes that "the regional approach is indeed a means of applying pressure to fight IUU fishing in the Indian Ocean region. Everyone is aware of the seriousness of IUU fishing in the Indian Ocean; moreover, the member countries of the IOC are also aware that individually the countries don’t have sufficient means to fight against this IUU fishing. Thus, we should work together using the means available. All the participants have been able to profit from this important regional coordination.
With regard to the tuna fishery, tuna is a migratory species, so we cannot say that we own it, or that we don’t own it. Today, the tuna could be ours because it swims through our waters, but tomorrow morning it might be our neighbours. Therefore, only a regional coordination, a regional fisheries protection service could really fight against IUU fishing. I would like to also take this opportunity to state that this regional coordination could also have an impact on the fight against pirates.
We need to continue to share information on illegal fishing. It is very important, in my opinion, that we do this within the framework of the fight against IUU fishing."
When discussing the best way for the international community to support Southern Africa and the Indian Ocean in their efforts to fight against IUU fishing in the future, Minister Ratolojanahary shares his opinion that "it is very important that IUU fishing should be recognised as a major constraint for the region. It is also vital that member countries of SADC should be aware of the seriousness of the loss of these resources to the region. Making the international community aware of these problems should be taken very seriously."