Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
i sh to provide protein in local diets will increase. The pressure to exploit
resources for sale outside the community to bring in much-needed cash for
medicines and other manufactured goods will increase and these commu-
nities may already be exceeding sustainable levels of exploitation.
Inl ux of visiting itinerant i shers from outside the local area
The inl ux
of itinerant i shers was a recent phenomenon and had only really had a
major impact on the islands since the beginning of the 1990s (Gessner pers.
comm.). It is likely, however, that the numbers of itinerant i shers and the
intensity with which they i sh will increase as the pressures on i sheries and
other resources in their home villages and towns increase and more people
seek the reputed wealth of resources in the Quirimbas. The commercial
i shing sector is also likely to grow to feed the expanding tourist market.
The dii culties of controlling and managing resource use and develop-
ment
The Quirimba Archipelago is a remote area and has been neglected
for a long time in terms of infrastructure, development and ef ective law
enforcement. There was a low oi cial authoritative presence in the area
and no oi cials in the capacity of marine resource protection and manage-
ment. Fishing gear regulations were not enforced and most people were
not even aware of their existence. The local administration system did
seem to be improving, but even local administrators with the best inten-
tions for the protection of resources and the implementation of legislation
are unlikely to have the time or resources to do very much about managing
resource use on their own.
Because of the lack of oi cial intervention there was great potential
for unscrupulous outsiders exploiting the marine resources of the islands
to the detriment of the needs of the local people (Massinga and Hatton,
1997). The sea cucumber and shark i n i sheries run in the Archipelago
by large companies for export to the Far East are a good example of
this. Intermediaries exporting these commodities are likely to have made
a lot of money but very little was paid to the local people involved. In
both cases the methods of extraction were so intensive that the potential
for local people to exploit these resources sustainably in the future may
already have been lost. Local i shers reported that sites where they once
skin-dived for abundant sea cucumbers now do not have any at all. Sharks
were also a rare sight now throughout the Archipelago.
Many foreign business people are interested in exploiting some resource
or other that they have heard is abundant in the Quirimbas, from cray-
i sh to the opportunities for tourism. Their attitude seems to be that the
resources of the Quirimba Archipelago are there for the taking and it is
unlikely that anyone will interfere actively. It is important that the rights
