Artisanal fishermen using inappropriate fishing gear, including mosquito nets, are putting the marine ecosystem at risk in the central Mozambican province of Sofala, according to a report in Monday’s issue of the Maputo daily “Noticias”.The use of mosquito nets, or other types of netting with a fine mesh, means that the holes are not large enough to allow juvenile fish or crustaceans in the larval form to escape. Such nets catch everything in the sea.Fishermen started using such damaging nets in Beira and in Machanga district, but the practice has now spread to Buzi, Cheringoma and Marromeu districts.Local fisheries officials say they do not have sufficient funds to carry out regular inspections of fishing gear, and to persuade fishermen not to use inappropriate nets.The Provincial Director of Fisheries, Joao Saize Duarte, told “Noticias” that Sofala currently has 116 maritime fishing centres and 48 centres in inland waters (rivers and lakes). Between them these artisanal fishermen use 6,836 canoes and 97 other small vessels.Saize said that many of the fishermen are now using the illegal nets with a mesh size of ten to 15 millimetres. The minimum mesh size should be 38 millimetres. He warned that the practice is spreading to other parts of the country, notably the Zambezi estuary.It is affecting areas where many species spawn and which are crucial to the reproduction of fish and crustaceans. “This is a major concern”, warned Saize, “and we need to mobilise funds in order to end this situation”.He said that this year a team consisting of officials from the Fisheries and Environment Ministries, and the Mozambican navy and police, undertook three operations in Sofala against illicit forms of fishing. Five nets of illegal mesh size were destroyed, and 24 boats were seized. Saize clearly believed that these three inspections only scratched at the surface of the problem.
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