Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
communities had strong cultural and linguistic identities. The Quirimbas
have been invaded, colonized and formed an important part of trade
routes for Arab and Portuguese traders for over 500 years. This, together
with the large-scale destabilization caused by Portuguese colonial rule
until 1975 and then the 17 years of civil war that followed directly after do
not make for a community with a strong sense of identity or the preserva-
tion of tradition. The current isolation of the Quirimba Archipelago is a
modern phenomenon.
Total value of the i shery
Total annual catch for net i shing was estimated at 440 tonnes, which
would be worth 1320 million meticais or US$110000 (at the minimum
price of 3000MZN per kilo), and for the trap i shery 60 tonnes, worth
180 million meticais or US$15000. The total value of the seagrass i n
i shery (not including the women's invertebrate i shery) of Montepuez
Bay was therefore estimated at 1500 million meticais or US$125 000 (1997
exchange rates) per year (see Table 8.5). About half of this, 750 million
meticais or US$61 560, went directly back into the local economy in the
form of wages to i shers and i sh processors. The area of seagrass i shed
by the Quirimba l eet was estimated at around 35km2. If the total annual
value of i sh caught was US$125 000, then the minimum annual value per
square kilometre of seagrass was estimated at US$3570.
Approximately 400 people on Quirimba Island were employed in
the seagrass i sheries. The annual individual wages for those involved
in the i shery range from 864000MZN (US$72) for i sh processors,
2160000MZN (US$180) for ordinary i shing crew, to 3024000MZN
(US$252) to 7 392 000MZN (US$616) for trap i shers. Boat owners could
in theory earn from US$1458 to US$4698 annually. Whether they actually
did this was unclear - the boat owners themselves were not clear about the
kind of annual proi t they made, and it is likely that a lot of the 'proi t'
went back into maintaining boats and gear.
A provincial and recent historical context
In 1986 a beach seine could be purchased in Cabo Delgado for the
equivalent of 2731 kilos of i sh. In 1994 this had risen to 66 915 kilos of
i sh (Republic of Mozambique State Secretariat of Fisheries, 1994b). In
the study described here, the 1997 price of a new seine net was given at
between 5 and 10 million meticais. Using the lowest price it was possible
to get for i sh on Quirimba, 3000MZN, this was the equivalent of between
1667 and 3333 kilos of i sh. Using the maximum price for i sh, 5000MZN
this was the equivalent of 1000 to 2000 kilos of i sh, more akin to the 1986
relative prices than those in 1994. The price of i sh has not risen much
