Dear MARMAMers
The Management Plan for the Ponta Partial Marine Reserve (PPMR), Mozambique is available for perusal at http://www.docstoc.com/docs/23472760/PPMR-Mozambique
The document contains the marine component of the extensive management plan that was developed for the Maputo Special Reserve in Mozambique. This plan was presented and distributed to stakeholders in December 2009, following many months work. With our field of work being directly related to marine mammal tourism, we will see restrictions on how many boats are allowed to undertake dolphin swims in the area, as well as whale watching trips during the annual humpback and southern right whale migrations. This, coupled with restrictions on jetskis and recreational boats 'visiting' the dolphins will certainly limit the amount of tourism pressure the animals are currently facing. For this, we are very thankful as we have seen increasing pressure on the marine life in the area since tourism has increased. It is with this in mind that we would like to share with you and request advice in this field.
The managemnt plan was compliled by a team of experts, together with the collaboration of the Ministry of Tourism (MITUR) and the Peace Parks Foundation (PPF) advisory team. The first draft format and style was adopted from the managed MPAs within the western cape province of South Africa.
Stakeholders have had the opportunity to comment on this document. We have submitted the following comments, which can be referenced to the page numbers on the plan.
Page 13 3.1.1 Ponta Techobanine Port Development The construction and development of the Port would only cause major destruction to the area. It is unthinkable that this is even a possibly especially given that it sits within the MSR. Sorry to say but this is ludicrous and should absolutely NOT be passed. It goes against the values and longterm vision of the PPMR.
Page 15 3.1.5 Dolphin and whale viewing Please note the spelling of Dolphin Encounters should be Dolphin EnCOuntours. Page 20 3.2.4.1 Scientific Research and Monitoring With this being a key component to the PPMR it is suggested that an operators/skippers log book be issued whereby skippers of both fishing concessions and scuba diving concessions can record the sightings of various key species ie: sharks (whales sharks, tigers, Zambezi’s, great whites etc) as well as various marine mammals species. This would give the PPMR a greater scope/area to work with. Page 22 3.2.4.1 Policy Clarity is needed on whether the institute/operator would draw up the memorandum of understanding or would this be done by the PPMR steering committee. Research Conducted to Date Research on marine mammals and whale sharks has been undertaken prior to the proclamation of the PPMR Page 22 Signage and Brochures as Resource for Creating Awareness Welcome to Mozambique “Conservation code of Conduct” has been developed in collaboration with the Natural History Museum, Dolphin EnCOuntours; PPF and Turtle Working Group. These are important in educating tourists regarding the special species likely to be encountered and how one should behave when encountering such species. It is suggested that a dedicated marine mammal awareness campaign be implemented with signboards and brochures ensuring ocean users are made aware of the species inhabiting the coastal zone. Page 26 3.2.4.3 Compliance Suggest a hotline number (probably a cell number) being clearly displayed on all signage and brochures, where a member of the community can call or text message in to report non-compliance and illegal activities to the relevant enforcement agency. This is vital as the area is too large to have eyes on the ground all the time. Community involvement is crucial and will empower the community to protect and work towards preserving the PPMR. Page 34 Description of income revenues Dive taxes There are currently no taxes for marine mammal tourism activities. Page 42 3.3.2.5 Multiple Use Zone Q. What will the PPMR's regulations on how many fishing Jet skis would be allowed to launch from Ponta Do Ouro and any other launch sites? Page 52 Article 4 Marine Mammal Tourism should be included as a specific activity Page 54 Appendix 2: Divers Code of Conduct Diving 11: Divers are not permitted to wear gloves (an option should not be given) 17:Report environmental disturbance or destruction of your dive sites to PPMR (not Cape Nature) ADDITIONAL SUGGESTION: suckers/sweets with wrappers are not permitted on dives. Page 56 Appendix 3: Dolphin, whale and whale shark code of conduct 5. Avoid mother calf units. Do not enter into the water with newborns/ calves unless for research purpose. Justification: much information can be obtained by entering into the water for monitoring purposes ie: the presence of shark bites and parasites on newborns as noted in the past. Page 57 Appendix 4: Fishers code of conduct for the PPMR Suggest the inclusion of the following in the formal code of conduct The targeting of all shark species in prohibited The dumping of used/unused bait is prohibited within the bays or close to bathing areas as this is likely to attract sharks. Fisherman are to be sure they do not discard bait wrappers and tackle at sea. Lines should be pulled in when in the vicinity of marine mammals. There is no mention of bill fish targeting or size limits of species. Page 69 2.5.1 Scuba Area Regulations How many boats are allowed per concession? How many divers are allowed per boat? How many dive groups are allowed per reef at any one stage? How many additional boats will a dive concession be able to deploy during peak seasons? The permit holder should submit to the management authority the previous months data on the “monthly data return sheet’ together with a key species sighting log Page 70 2.5.2 Dolphin, whale shark and whale watching areas The limits suggested in the management plan do not correlate with page 42’s suggestion of one operator per 20km. Past experience indicates that more than one operator increases stress levels within the local dolphin population and this has now been confirmed with a drop in good quality swims and dolphins spending more time on the move. One operator per 20km area will ensure a sustainable, low impact dolphin swim experience if done in the correct manner. Concession holders should commit to a memorandum of understanding with the PPMR thus ensuring good, baseline data is collected and that minimal stress is caused when working with marine mammals. Suggestion: Ponta do Ouro (1) Ponta Mamoli (1) Ponta Dobela (1) Santa Maria (1) Inhaca (1) It is suggested that the Dolphin EnCOuntour/Care-Africa swim with code of conduct be adopted by all concession holders undertaking dolphin swims. This code of conduct has been developed in conjunction with Angie Gullan and Dr Almeida Guissamulo (Natural History Museum Maputo) in effort to minimize any undue stress on dolphins wile interacting with them while in the open sea. Clarity is requested on: · Whether or not it is permitted to swim with whales (ie: humpback whales) · Will the opportunistic swimming with dolphins be allowed from dive boats Ie: if dolphins are come across when on route to a scuba dive are the divers permitted to get into the water and swim with them · Number of boats allowed per operator. It would defeat the purpose of limiting the number of operators if a single operator was allowed more than 1 boat per launch. A grey area exists between snorkeling trips/marine/ocean safari’s that offer snorkeling over shallow reefs, in the past it has been noted that this activity although sold as a snorkeling trip is actually a dolphin swim trip and causes much stress on dolphins and there is no formal code of conduct and swim briefing given. It is suggested that NO entry with dolphins/whales in permitted unless through the registered dolphin swim concession within the area. It is necessary to police this closely. Page 71 2.8. Fishing There is no mention on how many commercial fishing charters are allowed per area. It is important that this is minimized. It is also important to mention that no person shall attempt to operate a tourist/commercial fishing charter within the PPMR except on the authority of a permit. Currently there are ‘pirate’ operators doing fishing charters and selling their catches off in town. This needs to be addressed. OTHER Operator Agreement: It is critical for all operators to sign an agreement under the codes of conduct overseen by the PPMR to only offer and perform the activities that they are licensed to offer. In other words, Scuba Operations should not offer dolphin or whale watching, nor should they take advantage of opportunistic swims if they come across a pod of dolphins. Dolphin Operations should not offer Scuba diving and so on. Life Guard Program: The Life Guard program should be re-instated and managed by the PPMR to protect and ensure that the values of the PPMR are upheld. This will make sure that the people in the bathing areas, snorkelers, divers and fisherman are following the rules and regulations. This way the marine life and values of the PPMR will be upheld. The life guards should have the full weight of the law behind them as they will offer a good form of visible policing in busy areas, such as Ponta Do Ouro, and become a deterrent to law breakers. Firecrackers - Should be prohibited within the PPMR unless arranged professionally for special occasions ie: new years. Drinking – The consumption of alcohol should not be permitted within the launch site or while at sea or prior to launching.
Your feedback and input regarding this would be much appreciated. Please send any feedback to angie@dolphincare.org
Angie Gullan DolphinCare~Africa www.dolphincare.org Ponta do Ouro, Mozambique +0025 884 330 3859
A Memorandum of Understanding exists between the Natural History Museum of the University Eduardo Mondlane
& Cetacea Charters Lda t/a Dolphin EnCOuntours / Care Africa. The purpose of the MOU is a collaborated effort in education & research with the intention of increasing the understanding of the ecology of marine mammals together with the monitoring of tourism impacts in Mozambique. Africa's pioneer dolphin interaction & research center is situated on the southern most shores of Mozambique. Under the guidance of marine mammal experts, Dolphin EnCOuntours established Africa's first dolphin swim program during the early 90’s in Ponta do Ouro. This has resulted in ‘awareness & research’ based dolphin tourism that delicately balances humanities fascination with dolphins while fulfilling the needs of educating, conserving and researching. Having initially started as a pilot study in the early ’90’s the program has been instrumental in working towards the protection of both resident and migratory cetacean species.
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