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We used semi-structured individual interviews based on a pre- determined questionnaire to gather various types of information such as types of fishing gear used in the area, seasonality of use, methods of deployment, and incidental capture of marine turtles in fishing gear. In total, we interviewed 167 maritime fishers, including 24 from Benin, 2 from Togo, and 141 from Ghana. These interviewees were selected randomly from the 21 villages of our study. The interviews were anonymous to ensure that information provided by the fishers would not be used later in law enforcement activities. To effectively gauge the impact of different fisheries on marine turtles, we conducted daily observations of different types of fisheries from November 2004 to February 2005, as they brought their gear and catch back to the villages. In total, we observed 21 groups of fishers at the end of 705 different fishing sets, and noted any captured turtles, both live and dead. The five primary types of fishing gear used were gillnets (tounga), shark nets (gbowlédo), purse seine nets (watcha/ouitchi), beach seine nets (aguénin /yovodo), and hook and line. Gillnets, and seine nets were the most commonly used type of gear (Table 1). Gillnets (tounga) can be broken down further into subcategories as follows: agbla (large mesh gillnets with 40cm stretch mesh), toungavi (medium mesh gillnets with 32cm stretch mesh) and sovi (small mesh gillnets with 23cm stretch mesh).
During the three months of our observations, we recorded 36 marine turtles incidentally captured and brought to the villages (Table 1), with an overall 5.1% capture rate of the sets. The greatest bycatch was observed in the shark nets (gbowélédo), followed by gillnets (tounga and agbla) There were one observed capture of turtle by hook and line fishers during our observations. The mortality rate was greatest in shark nets (86.2% were dead when observed) while no mortalities were observed in the gillnets. The most commonly captured (91.7%) species was the olive ridley, Lepidochelys olivacea. The other two captured species were green turtles, Chelonia mydas, (5.6%) and leatherbacks, Dermochelys coriacea (2.8%). In addition, we recorded 53 carapaces of olive ridleys, green turtles and hawksbills (Eretmochelys imbricata) in fisher villages and also river villages (Fig. 1). This suggests that hawksbills are also incidentally captured, although more rarely than the other species or perhaps at different times of year. It also provides strong evidence that hawksbills do occur in the waters of Benin.
All 36 turtles incidentally captured during our observations were brought back to the fisher villages. We asked fishers to describe what the turtles would be used for. The majority (48%) reported that turtle oil was primary use for the captured turtles. Forty-one percent reported that turtle oil and meat were the primary uses, while 11% stated that only meat of the turtles was to be used. The importance of turtle oil in Grand-Popo is not a surprise, given the variety of uses for the oil in coastal communities, including medicinal uses (see Fretey et al. this issue). Other common products of incidentally capture turtles include meat and shell. The fishers profit from an incidentally captured turtle by using its oil, meat and other products. At the same time, fishing gear is usually damaged when a turtle is incidentally captured. Hence, fishers wish to avoid turtles but when faced with one in their nets, they will try to minimize the negative impacts associated with the capture, either by cutting the turtle out of the net or keeping the turtle for later use.
The information provided by the fishers strongly support the idea that incidental captures in different gear constitute a major threat to marine turtle species in Benin. Although incidentally captured turtles often end up being used by fishers to eat or to sell, we are confident that there is no active turtle fishery per se. This is largely because the fishers do not use gear designed to specifically capture turtles. The large-mesh gillnets commonly used in some Caribbean islands to capture turtles (Fretey 2001) are not in use along the coast of Grand-Popo. In contrast, there are some highly specialized sea turtle fisheries elsewhere in Western Africa. For instance, in the Bay of Corisco, some fishers actively hunt adult green turtles on seagrass pastures using harpoons (Formia 1999; Dossa 2005). In Cameroon, some younger villagers have invented a new technique of using submarine rifles to hunt juvenile hawksbills on coral reefs (Fretey 2001). Nevertheless, as target species of fish and crustaceans become more rare in Benin waters, the pressure to profit from incidentally captured turtles may increase.
The lack of organized fisheries targeting marine turtles in Benin suggests that raising awareness of the conservation status of marine turtles may help condition coastal fishers to actively protect these species while fishing. Of course, the inherent dilemma between the long term conservation needs of marine turtles and short term economic needs of coastal communities makes it challenging to come up with effective means to both preserve turtles and maintain livelihoods. A successful conservation plan should move beyond the simple declaration that fishers play a role in the in incidental capture of marine turtles; indeed, fishers should play an active role in the development of conservation plans and activities. Of course, it is important to remember that “fishers” is not a homogenous group whose members can be expected to want the same things. For instance, in a sea turtle management case from North Carolina, USA, local fishers express interest in enacting changes in fisheries management to reduce bycatch of sea turtles (Santoro 2003). However, in that case individual fishers were more likely to recommend changes to fisheries other than those that they were involved in, rather than recommend self-regulatory measures. Nevertheless, fishers comprise an important stakeholder in marine conservation. The current conflict in Benin highlights a common dilemma in marine biodiversity conservation: how to meet the needs of both coastal human inhabitants and protected marine species.
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DOSSA, S.J. 2006. Evaluation de la pression de pêche maritime artisanale sur les tortues marines sur la côte de la Commune de Grand-Popo au Bénin. Mémoire de DEA en Gestion de l’Environnement. EDP/FLASH/UAC, Cotonou, Bénin. 78 pp.
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