Case 3-7 Promoting recruitment of new stocks by establishing a closed season and creating spawning grounds: case study of wide-area management of octopus in Mbour.

Fisherman-led octopus resource management started in 2004 in the village of Nianing on Senegal’s Petite-Côte, as a pilot project of the JICA study on fisheries resource assessment and management planning. After successfully establishing a closed season for octopus, the fishers continued their experimentation by installing octopus pots for spawning. In 2006, it was found that 50% of the octopus pots placed at the bottom of the sea contained octopus eggs, and 75% of the pots contained octopus. With these results, octopus resource management has also started in the neighbouring villages of Pointe Sarène and Mballing. In the department of Mbour, there was increasing hope for the broader management of resources in collaboration with other fishing villages. Within the framework of COGEPAS, CLPA Joal participated in 2010 in the activities of the CLPA Sindia, which is composed of nine fishing villages, to manage octopus resources (by establishing a closed season for fishing and installing octopus pots for spawning). In 2011, the CLPA Mbour joined this framework of activities, thus achieving the extended management of octopus resources. To promote the participation of fishers in resource management activities, an initiative was also taken to adopt it as a departmental decree. It was confirmed that the ‘approval’ of fisher’s activities by the administrations creates a sense of responsibility and custody among fishers and promotes resource management activities.

In 2017, four CLPAs, namely those of Sindia Nord, Sindia Sud, Mbour and Joal had collaborated to decide on a ban on octopus fishing for one month, from 25 June to 25 July of the same year. This ban came into force as a departmental decree in Mbour. Representatives of the Fatick and Dakar CLPAs were invited to the meeting that decided on the closure of the fishery. The goals is that the entire coastline, from the Petite-Côte side of the Dakar region to the northern border with The Gambia, will be subject to a future closed season for octopus fishing.
A total of 12,000 octopus pots for egg-laying were deployed throughout Mbour Department in 2016 (4,500 in CLPA Mbour, 2,500 in CLPA Joal, 2,500 in CLPA Sindia Nord and 2,500 in CLPA Sindia Sud). In addition to support from EU’s ADUPES and USAID’s COMFISH, funding was provided by fish processing companies that purchase and export octopus, including IKA GEL, AFRICA FISH, AMERGE and BLUE FISH.

In 2004, octopus resource management began in the village of Nianing on the Petite-Côte and has since evolved into broader fisheries resource management throughout Mbour department. The resource management activities decided by CLPAs have been implemented as a departmental decree. In addition, several donors and exporters of fisheries products have provided financial support. Thus, the success of extended fisheries resource management is due to the understanding and support of many actors.

Methods to encourage recruitment of new stocks include protection activities for spawning parent fish, such as the establishment of closed seasons, stock sanctuaries and fishery restriction zones, and the creation of spawning grounds, and protection activities for small undersized fish, such as release of undersized fish and regulation of fishing gear targeted at undersized fish.

This case is an effective example of resource management activities that promote the recruitment of new stocks by establishing a closed season and creating spawning grounds. The management of octopus in Mbour is regarded as a successful example of wide-area resource management, and it is worthwhile to trace the history of such management.