Dear MARMAMersThe 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
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.Please consider the environment before printing this email