Southwest Madagascar octopus - diving & gleaning

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Overview

Renowned for its exceptional marine and coastal biodiversity, southwest Madagascar is also home to a rapidly increasing population, experiencing very high levels of poverty. Coastal communities in the region are highly dependent on marine fisheries for subsistence and income, as well as being extremely vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, and of competition with foreign fishing vessels. In this context, delivering sustainable fisheries management has never been more important.

Octopus fishing is a crucial livelihood for the Vezo coastal communities, particularly women, for whom there are few other ways of earning money. Most octopus is sold to village middlemen and ultimately exported to foreign markets by two principal seafood export companies. The fishery is a key driver of economic activity and is of critical importance in the region.

This FIP, representing the first of its kind in Madagascar, aims to encourage responsible use of the local octopus population, securing long-term economic benefits for communities and businesses, and accessing global markets interested in high quality, responsibly sourced octopus.

FIP Description 

Renowned for its exceptional marine and coastal biodiversity, southwest Madagascar is also home to a rapidly increasing population, experiencing very high levels of poverty.

FIP Objective(s) 

In creating a robust and sustainable management framework, the FIP will ensure that:

  • Good management stewardship and husbandry of the octopus resource is the status quo

  • The octopus resource remains a stable and productive driver of food and income for generations to come.

  • Monitoring of secondary species, ETP species, and key octopus habitats improves decision making and leads to better management of the ecosystem as a whole

  • Positively improved catch handling and fishery interactions with the supply chain are developed

  • The fishery products are linked to more rewarding markets, ensuring that communities are given a fairer price for their catch

  • The value of the product is maximized, bringing more money into the community for much-needed amenities and more income to fishing families to drive a higher standard of life.

  • By January 2026 we expect the fishery to have achieved the above objectives and reached a score of 80 or above for each of the performance indicators measured in the pre-assessment 

FIP Type 
Comprehensive
FIP Stage 
Stage 5: Improvements on the Water
Start and Projected End Dates
January 2019
January 2026
Update 
This change has occurred due to the organisational restructuration of the SW Regional Octopus Management Committee (CGP) to incorporate the Fishery Improvement Project within its technical programme - including the recruitment of a FIP lead position within the CGP. To that end, the process has been delayed due to a COVID-19 outbreak in January followed by three cyclones severely impacting the organisation and activities planning of CGP stakeholders. To compensate this time gap, the CGP has decided to extend the length of the project to better reflect the impact of the improvement as well as the efforts that all parties will commit to.
Last Progress Report Reviewed 
Tuesday, April 30, 2024
Next Progress Report Due 
Thursday, October 31, 2024
Species 
Common Name 
Day Octopus
Scientific Name
Octopus cyanea
Gear Type 
Diver-Caught
Hand Gathered
Harpoon
Location
FAO Major Fishing Area
Area 51 (Indian Ocean, Western)
Exclusive Economic Zones
Country 
Madagascar
Geographic Scope 
Atsimo Andrefana, Velondriake LMMA
Landings
Estimated Total FIP Landings 
965 metric tons
Estimated Total Fishery Landings 
965 metric tons
Landings Date 
December 2022
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FIP at a Glance

View current status
January 01, 2019
46% 54%
Progress Rating (A) Advanced Progress

Reserved for comprehensive FIPs that have achieved a Stage 4 or 5 result within the past 12 months.

(B) Good Progress

A basic FIP that has achieved a Stage 4 or 5 result within 12 months.

(C) Some Recent Progress
  • A FIP that has achieved a Stage 4 or 5 result in more than 12 (but less than 24) months AND has reported a Stage 3 activity within the past six months.
  • A FIP younger than 12 months that has never achieved a Stage 4 or 5 result but has reported a Stage 3 activity within the first 12 months.
(D) Some Past Progress
  • A FIP that has achieved a Stage 4 or 5 result in more than 12 (but less than 24) months BUT has not reported a Stage 3 activity within the past six months.
  • A FIP for which the most recent Stage 4 or 5 result is more than 24 (but less than 36) months old AND a Stage 3 activity has been reported within six months.
  • A FIP 12-36 months old that has never reported a Stage 4 or 5 result AND has reported a Stage 3 activity within the past six months.
(E) Negligible Progress
  • A FIP for which the most recent Stage 4 or 5 result is more than 24 (but less than 36) months old, with no Stage 3 activity reported in the last six months.
  • A FIP younger than 12 months with no Stage 3 activity reported within 12 months.
  • A FIP 12-36 months old that has never reported a Stage 4 or 5 result AND has not reported a Stage 3 activity within the past six months.

The ratings are currently derived by SFP from publicly available data on FIP websites, including FisheryProgress.org, and are determined using the following methodology: View PDF
C Some Recent Progress
Actions Complete

This pie chart represents completed environmental actions. Non-completed environmental actions may contain completed sub-tasks that are not illustrated here. For more information on environmental action progress visit the Actions Progress tab.
  • Complete
  • Incomplete
Next Update Due FisheryProgress requires a FIP to provide update reports every six months, and two missed reports will render the FIP inactive. If a report is overdue, this date will appear red.
Oct 2024
Target End Date
Jan 2026

FIP Leads

Organization Name 
Blue Ventures
Organization Type 
NGO
Primary Contact 
Paul Antion
Email 
paul@blueventures.org
Website Name 
Blue Ventures
FIP Identification Number The FIP Identification Number is automatically generated by FisheryProgress when a FIP profile is created. While the number itself is not meaningful, they are used by NGOs, academia, and industry to refer to FIPs in a consistent way.
10360