Technical Advisor for Artisanal Fisheries

Context:

The Congo Basin Coast (CBC) spans the entire coastline of Gabon and the Republic of Congo (Brazzaville). The CBC was defined and identified as a conservation priority due the diversity of its habitats (including coastal forests and savannahs, tidal lagoons, mangroves and coastal sea) and species (ranging from cetaceans to great apes). Small fishing communities are scattered along the coastline, and their traditional livelihoods are dependent on the health of coastal ecosystems and the important ecological services that they provide. Principal among these are marine and lagoon fisheries. WCS’s CBC vision is that the area remains a haven for ocean giants such as humpback whales and sea turtles, and that its coastal beaches and lagoons safeguard threatened species that include manatees, crocodiles and hippos, allowing them to thrive in perpetuity, alongside one of Africa’s least impacted forest landscapes. To this end WCS works as a technical advisor to the Parks (Agency Agence National des Parcs Nationaux [ANPN]) in three national parks (Conkouati-Douli (Congo), Mayumba and Loango (Gabon), in close cooperation with partners in the other coastal protected areas, Pongara and Akanda and with local stakeholders around all these parks with the aim of leveraging the conservation efforts from this site-based work into a strategically coordinated research and conservation approach that extends beyond the park boundaries to achieve science-based conservation of the coast’s wildlife and habitats.

One of the identified threats to natural resources in the CBC area is unsustainable artisanal fisheries, resulting in depleted fish stocks, reduced biodiversity, habitat destruction and bycatch of threatened species. Underlying and contributing factors to this threat include: a shortage of ecological information and understanding to adequately contribute to conservation, weak law enforcement and the lack of fishery resource management plans. To address these problems WCS is looking to recruit a technical advisor to work in collaboration with local authorities and fishing communities to develop and implement co-ordinated artisanal fishery monitoring programmes that will provide the basis for sustainable fishery management planning.

Objectives of the position:

• Develop and coordinate the research in artisanal fisheries at the Loango and Mayumba project sites.
• Assist with the development and implementation of durable artisanal fishery management plans.

Principal responsibilities[1]:

1)      Advise, develop, and coordinate the monitoring program on artisanal fishing offtake (CPUE and species) at WCS sites Loango and Mayumba in close cooperation with Conkouati-Douli.

2)      Training of relevant WCS/BdP/ANPN staff and participating students and assisting with the analysis and reporting of the results.

3)      Assemble information, including that generated from the monitoring programmes to be used in developing guidelines for durable artisanal fishing practices.

4)      Work with the WCS project mangers to advise the local authorities on the development of their sustainable artisanal fishery management plans.

5)      Update the fisher and equipment database, including the expansion of its geographic area at the two designated field sites.

6)      Assist with the development of a permit system for local fishing populations operating within Loango national park.

7)      Develop tools for outreach and sensitization of fishing communities on durable fishing methods and assist the field teams with workshops and meetings with the local fishing communities on sustainable fishing practices.

8)      Assist with the coordination and harmonization of WCS activities with local fishing associations.

9)      Assist reporting on fishery related activities pertaining to funder requirements.

Results to be achieved at the end of the placement:

• Standardised artisanal fishery monitoring protocol for CBC.
• Guidelines for sustainable artisanal fishing practices for lagoon and marine zones.
• Artisanal fishery management plans for Mayumba and Loango
• Annual reports on local artisanal fisheries (CPUE) for Mayumba marine artisanal fishery and Iguela lagoon fishery.