“I see it as my duty to protect our ocean so future generations will not suffer because of us.”

What was it like growing up in a coastal community?

As a child I took every opportunity to go to the beach. I loved being there. When I started fishing, I was surprised by the amount of fish I caught. It was so profitable that I decided to quit school after 6^th grade to devote all of my time to fishing. Back then, it was easy to make a living as a fisherman. There were not as many people fishing as there are today and there were a lot of fish. We went out fishing for an hour or two and came back with full “pirogues” (small, traditional fishing boats). At first, I bought nice clothes and electronics from the money I earned, but nowadays it enables my two children to go school. As a fishing community, we have an advantage: the ocean.

It sounds like things have changed since then.

It is not so much about the ocean; I would say it is in the way we use the ocean that has changed. Due to a decrease in rainfall in the inland areas, more and more farmers came to the coasts to become fishermen instead of farmers. They knew that our reefs were rich and the waters were full of fish – we were even catching the largest amount of octopus per person in the country. Sadly, it all started to change. Too many people were fishing our waters in an unsustainable way.

My community perceives the ocean as a gift from God. Unfortunately, not all people saw it the same way and they were damaging the coral reefs. They didn’t know how to protect them. I realized that we should take care of the ocean because its resources allow us to provide for our families, build houses and buy livestock.

Everyone in the village was aware that we were catching less and less fish, even though we went fishing every day. If we could not go fishing for two days due to bad weather, there was no food in the village. It created tensions as fishermen blamed each other for the lack of food. It hurt me to see that they knew something was wrong, but they just did not understand what was causing the change. That is why it is important that we continue to explain how the reef works and how we – as a fishing community – can conserve our resources with better management and new technologies.

When our community started working with WWF, we initially did not see the benefits of the regulations they proposed. But after a while, we noticed that we caught bigger fish. By seeing these positive changes with my own eyes, I realised that we had to change and I started to promote these sustainable fishing practices among fishermen. I see it as my duty to protect our ocean so future generations will not suffer because of us.

What sustainable practices are used in the LMMA and what results have you seen?

As a member of the LMMA committee in Beheloke, I work with WWF, governmental institutions and the Madagascar Locally Managed Marine Area Network. Together we have put regulations in place, such as prohibiting fishing for juveniles and using unsustainable fishing gear. I support the implementation of these regulations and participate in the ecological monitoring of coral reefs and octopus reserves.

Being part of the LMMA committee has brought me and other people in our community a lot: in addition to our local work, we exchange experiences with managers from other LMMAs. The collaboration with WWF is important, because they offer us technical support and made us aware of the importance of protecting our reefs and beaches. The WWF-Madagascar team has taught us how to use longlines, set up fishing closures and manage the LMMA financially. They also promoted sustainable livelihoods, like seaweed farming, and provided our village with drinking water.

Since the establishment of the LMMA, the size of fish has increased and the octopus catches went up from 500kg in 2017 to 708kg in 2019. Recent results show a positive trend in reef health in the area of Beheloke. Other villages in the area have also established octopus reserves, meaning the measures we apply in our LMMA have a ripple effect in the area.

What are the main challenges you have encountered?

We faced – and are still facing – big challenges. One of the main challenges is how to deal with migration from Madagascar’s interior. More people are coming to the coast to earn a living as fishermen. It is difficult to solve this issue. You cannot simply stop people from coming and they are searching for ways to maintain themselves, because their land no longer produces the same amount of crops as it did before. People from surrounding coastal villages also come to our LMMA to fish and some of them use illegal fishing techniques, like using artificial lights at night and removing coral. That is way it is important to include as many people as possible in the promotion of sustainable fishing practices.

We receive significant support from organisations and institutions, but I would like our community to become more independent in the management of the LMMA. The expertise of WWF is of great value, but we as a community should do more. To become more independent, we need to increase our knowledge of laws related to marine resource management, law enforcement and other governance issues, and we need to improve our collaboration with the Fisheries Department.

Thank you for the interesting story! As an Ocean Witness, what would you like to share with coastal communities around the world?  

When I was elected president of the LMMA committee a few years ago, I learned that it is not easy to lead a community-based organisation. However, the co-management of our resources is very important; as a community we need to learn how to keep our ocean healthy. We need to make sure everyone follows the rules and we have to end complacency, for the benefit of all. Unless all people work together, there is no efficient co-management of marine resources.

Mialisoa Raharimanana, WWF-Madagascar:

“LMMAs are crucial to Madagascar’s marine and coastal protection. The communities depend on fishing, and the majority of the catches are sold nationally and internationally. This means that the sustainable fishing practices, a direct result of the hard work of people like Samson, contribute to the consumption of sustainably caught fish and octopus in different parts of the world. To increase the impact of work we do locally, communities and organisations around the world should implement LMMAs and other community-based solutions to coastal and marine conservation. Consumers should demand sustainable seafood and governments should support community conservation initiatives. This way, we all work together on the responsible use of our oceans.”