With huge stretches of coral reefs, mangrove forests, estuaries and island archipelagos, the West Indian Ocean supports a wide diversity of life – from sea turtles and sharks to humans.

The economies of many countries in the region are also highly dependent on the marine resources of the West Indian Ocean, primarily for fishing, tourism and shipping.

Urgent Threats

Today, the rich waters of the West Indian Ocean are threatened by unsustainable and destructive fishing practices that decimate fisheries and destroy fragile coral ecosystems. The region’s coral reefs are also at risk from rising sea temperatures caused by climate change.

However, some corals seem resistant or resilient to coral bleaching, offering hope that these fragile ecosystems can be protected.

Helping Establish the Largest Marine Reserve in Africa

From the Caribbean to the South Pacific, the Conservancy has joined with governments, communities and other conservation groups to set aside important coral reefs and fisheries in marine protected areas. These protected areas also benefit communities by replenishing depleted fisheries and protecting crucial spawning grounds.

In Mozambique, the Conservancy is working with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in the Primeiras and Segundas Archipelago, a biologically rich area with the most abundant and diverse coral communities in Mozambique – and possibly all of Africa.

This area also boasts mangrove forests and rare coastal forest habitats, and is an essential breeding site for five of the world’s seven marine turtle species. Possibly the world’s most important population of the coelacanth, a critically endangered prehistoric fish once thought to be extinct, survives within the area’s deep underwater canyons.

The inshore fisheries and shrimp beds of the Primeiras and Segundas provide the main source of livelihood for an estimated 500,000 local people. Enhancing management of these resources will help meet urgent needs for food and financial security.

The government of Mozambique and the fishing communities of Primeiras and Segundas are working with WWF and the Conservancy to create a new 4.2 million acre protected area in the Primeiras and Segundas. The project site includes two groups of 10 coral fringed islands offshore, along with a large complex of barrier islands, mangrove swamps and coastal forests inshore. This area is also critical for a shrimp fishery that supports more than 40,000 local people.

Getting it Right Starts Today

Over the next three years, the Conservancy will lend our expertise to help WWF develop effective protected-area boundaries for Primeiras and Segundas, including no take zones, also known as ‘fish replenishment zones’, areas for sustainable tourism development to boost the economy and to give further incentives to local communities to help protect the area and to use its resources sustainably, and community fishing zones. The multipurpose reserve will:

• Protect fragile local habitats
• Preserve feeding grounds and breeding areas for threatened and endangered species
• Improve local livelihoods by increasing fish and shrimp stocks
• Create a focus for sustainable tourism ventures in Nampula and Zambezia provinces.
• In addition, we will work to protect valuable fisheries by halting illegal fishing by international boats within three miles of the coast of Mozambique.

In addition, we will work to protect valuable fisheries by halting illegal fishing by international boats within three miles of the coast of Mozambique.

Nature picture credits (top to bottom, left to right): Photo © Matt Brown/TNC (Primeiras and Segundas Archipelago); Photo © Matt Brown/TNC (Mozambique coral); Map © TNC (West Indian Ocean); Map © TNC (Primeiras and Segundas).