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Country Report
MAURITIUS
The Republic of Mauritius comprises of Mauritius, Rodrigues, Agalega, Chagos
Archipelago, Cargados Carajos shoals, Tromelin
Presented by
The main land, Mauritius lies in latitude 20o S and longitude 57o E and is about 800 km
from the south-east of Madagascar.
Mr. D.NORUNGEE
PRINCIPAL FISHERIES OFFICER
MINISTRY OF FISHERIES
EEZ of around 2.3 million Km2 comprises the coastal waters of Mauritius, Rodrigues,
Agalega, Chagos Archipelago, Cargados Carajos shoals, Tromelin and emcompasses the
banks including Saya de Malha and Nazareth and the oceanic waters.
Land area of Mauritius is 1864 km2, a coastline of 200 kms and is surrounded by 150
kms of fringing coral reef enclosing lagoons with a total area of 243 km2.
climate is tropical and cyclone occurs between the months of December to April.
population of about 1.2 million inhabitants
December 2012
Economic outlook of the Fisheries Sector - 2011
The EEZ of Mauritius
Turnover
Rs 17.64 billion
9.591 billion
1.2 %
Contribution to national exports
14.8 %
Revenue from calling fishing vessels
Rs. 7 billion
Revenue from seafood export
Rs 7.7 billion
Re-export
Rs. 1.89 billion
No. of calling foreign fishing vessels
613
licenses issued to foreign fishing vessels
253
Transshipment
40,043 tonnes
Employment in seafood processing
6 000
Indirect employment in the seafood sector (ancillary services) 10 000
Direct employment linked to fishing activities in Mauritius EEZ
(including Rodrigues) 6 000
Investment in seafood at date
Rs. 18 billion
Additional Investment in Seafood
Rs. 10 billion (2012 – 2015)
Tuna constitutes about 96% of the total export value of fish and fish products from
Mauritius
Exports, including Re-export
Agalega
Rs
Contribution to GDP around
Chagos
Archipelago
Saya De Malha Bank
Nazareth Bank
St Brandon( Cargados
Carajos Shoal)
Rodrigues
Mauritius
Species of marine turtles found in
Mauritius
Distribution of turtles
Nesting of green turtles were common in Mauritius and
Rodrigues, but due to over-exploitation and coastal
development very few are observed now;
NE and SE region of Mauritius-sea-grass meadows attract
green adult turtles for grazing;
Outer islands- Agalega, St. Brandon, Tromelin and
Chagos, turtle nesting is very common. Most common
species are the green and hawksbill turtles.
Nesting peak in summer and during the night feeding and
foraging take place in seagrass, algae and reef areas.
Green turtle,
Chelonia mydas
Hawksbill turtle,
Eretmochelys imbricata
Potential Turtle Network Sites
Agalega
(Outer Island) FEEDING & NESTING
Coordinates 10° 18’ S 56° 40’ E
St. Brandon (Outer Island) FEEDING & NESTING
Coordinates: 16° 35’ S 59° 37’ E
ST.BRANDON(Cargados Carajos)
Location: Indian Ocean
Coordinates: 16° 35’ S 59° 37’ E
About 450 kms in the NNE of Mauritius
Total islands: 28
Land area: 3.3 sq km
Reef more than 50 km in length and 5 km in width
Reef area is 190 sq km
Population : about 30 transient fishermen
Rich in fauna and flora: Vegetation Cassia(Acacia), Casuarina (filao),
Tabebula( tecoma),Stenostaphrum(green grass),Morunga,etc
Fish : lethrinidae, siganidae,mullets , epinephelus , caranx, etc
Birds: Est. population 80 000 peaked in winter months
Turtle: Green turtle, hawskbill found in waters adjoining islets and
nesting in most of the islets
Threats
AGALEGA
Agalega consist of two islands,namely
North and South islands.
About 1,000 km north of Mauritius island.
Area : 26sq km
Coordinates 10° 18’ S 56° 40’ E
The population of the islands as at July 2011 was estimated at 300.
] The islands have a total area of 2,600 hectares, the North island is
12.5 km long and 1.5 km wide and South island 7 km long and 4.5 km
wide.
Flora includes coconut and palm trees
Fauna includes land and sea birds, sea turtles
Turtle: Green turtle, hawskbill found in waters adjoining islets
nesting in the islets
Conservation Initiatives
Legal basis : Under the Fisheries and Marine Resources Act 2007
(a)Fishing of any species of turtles, turtle eggs or marine mammals is
illegal under paragraph 16 (1) (c) except with the written approval of the
Permanent Secretary(b) Paragraph 12 prohibits fishing with drift nets (c )
Paragraph 22 (2) (a) prohibits import of turtle (dead or alive) , turtle egg ,
or stuffed except with the written approval of the Permanent Secretary.
Awareness campaign on the importance of the conservation of turtle
NGO and AFRC works together
Viewing the importance of the conservation of turtles, Government has
provided a sum of RS 600,000 in the 2013 budget of the Ministry of
Fisheries particularly for conservation of turtle.
Vessels owners have been requested to abide by resolution of IOTC
relating to turtles.
Illegal egg collection and fishing of turtles.
disturbances as cyclones, tsunamis, surges
etc.
Purse seines and long liners( by- catch)
Pollution, oil spills, industrial effluent discharge.
Natural
International Treaties and
Convention
Mauritius has signed or ratified several international treaties /
conventions for the protection and conservation of the marine environment
and the resources which include :
Convention of Fishing and Conservation of Living Resources of the High Seas, 1970
Convention of International Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
(CITES) 1975
Convention on Biological Diversity, 1992
Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild animals (Bonn
Convention)
United Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1994
International Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution from Ships
(MARPOL) 1995
Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation and Management of Marine
Turtles and their habitats of the Indian Ocean ,2002
Activities Proposed for Agalega
and St. Brandon
Site
inventory- collect baseline data on turtle
populations , their habitats, threats, human
interactions etc;
Management plan for the site;
Capacity building, human resource development;
Community engagement.
GREEN TURTLE NESTING AT GRIS GRIS
BEACH , MAURITIUS
Egg-laying and hatching of the green sea turtle Chelonia mydas was first
reported in 1977 in the southeast at La Cambuse, in the southeast of the
country.
On 31 October 2007, a successful egg-laying and hatching of the green sea
turtle was observed at Gris Gris, a sublime and beautiful beach in the
south of the country.
the nesting site was protected on a 24 hour basis and on 10 January, 4
hatchlings were recuperated from the site.
The movement of most of the hatchlings (79) went unnoticed due to
heavy rains and out of the four hatchlings which were recuperated, 3 were
released at sea and one was reared at the Albion Fisheries Research Centre
before released at sea.
On 25th January 2008, the nest was dug up for gathering scientific
information and a clutch of 113 eggs was observed out of which 83 hatched
egg shells, 21 unhatched eggs and 10 decayed eggs were noted.
Photos- Gris Gris
THANK
YOU
FOR YOUR ATTENTION