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Chapter 3 Implementation of resource management measures
Case 3-5 Recruitment of new stocks by setting a closed season and releasing juvenile clams: case study of cymbium resource management in Petite-Côte since 2004

Case

Case 3-5 Recruitment of new stocks by setting a closed season and releasing juvenile clams: case study of cymbium resource management in Petite-Côte since 2004

Key words	cymbium, Petite-Côte, closed season setting, juvenile release, ELIM PECHE, sustainability of activities
Context	Cymbium is a large univalve shellfish found throughout West Africa. The volume landed in Senegal almost doubled during the 2000’s. This was due to the market expansion, from the domestic to the Asian market. In the decade of the 2000’s, the unit price increased by 1.6 times, leading to fears of overfishing. This case study focuses on cymbium management.
Content	In 2004, the first cymbium resource management activities in Sindia Sud in Petite-Côte began. The study on the assessment and planning of fisheries resources management conducted by JICA between 2003 and 2006 made it possible to set a closed season when there are many juvenile cymbium, and the seeding of juvenile cymbium. These activities were taken over by COGEPAS, which started in 2009. New workshops were organised mainly for the Joal CLPA, and its members joined the activities of Sindia CLPA, which had already implemented a closed season and spat enclosure to conduct similar activities since 2010. In 2011, the CLPA of Mbour joined the project, and the three CLPAs developed an extended fisheries resource management. The company ELIM PECHE, which buys cymbium from Joal, was catching hundreds of juvenile cymbium daily during the spawning period. The CLPA of Joal therefore decided to collect and return them to the sea. The COGEPAS project confirmed that the effectiveness of fisheries resource management activities could be enhanced by the cooperation of the fishing company with which CLPA has a commercial relationship. According to an interview in June 2017, the activity of setting up a closed season for cymbium fishing could not be continued after the end of COGEPAS because migrant fishers from Mbour and Dakar, and local fishers started to look for cymbidium through dive fishing, and the initiative for the activity could not be taken. On the other hand, the collection of juvenile cymbium, which occurred during COGEPAS activities, did not take root as the fisher’s activity after the end of the project because of the costs of preparing boats to release the juvenile cymbium to sea. Juvenile cymbium collection from the company ELIM PECHE was discontinued for the same reason. Instead, the CLPA encouraged fishers to return juvenile cymbium found from the mother shells to the sea when they landed cymbium on their boats at the fishing grounds, or when the women processed them on the beach.
Lessons Learned	While octopus resource management is widespread and continuous throughout the department of Mbour, cymbium resource management has not been sustainability achieved. This difference may be explained as follows. Octopus fishing is a highly seasonal activity, while cymbium fishery continues year-round, supporting fishers’ income. There are several other issues involved, including the cost of fisheries resource management activities and the lack of measures to support diver fishers.
Guideline chapter relevant to this case study	Chapter 3 Implementation of resource management measures 3.1.2 Recruiting new resources 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 re-release of undersized fish and regulating fishing gear targeting undersized fish.
Situation to which this case study could refer	This case is an effective reference for the establishment of a closed season and the release of undersized fish as resource management activities to encourage the recruitment of new stocks. It holds many options for considering the sustainability of activities, such as the characteristics of the resource from the perspective of fishermen’s management, the problem of incurring expenses in resource management activities, and the response to migrant fishermen.