This Law Protects Marine Life AND Empowers Fishermen

Mozambique has sanctioned a new fisheries law that not only grants protection to marine species such as whale sharks, manta rays, and dolphins but also empowers fishing communities.

“This is a huge step for Mozambique; a huge step for organizations like us, and also for the communities,” says Emerson Neves, project manager at Marine Megafauna Foundation (MMF), one of the NGOs that lobbied for expanded protections for decades.

Through the updated Regulamento da Pesca Marítima, the country shifts towards sustainable fisheries instead of focusing on increasing production, while legally recognizing community fishery councils (CCPs) as intermediaries between the government and fishing communities. “If they are recognized at the national level, they are empowered enough to do what they have to do to promote sustainable fisheries,” says Ercilio Chauque, a coastal fisheries expert at the Mozambique office of the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

The new version of the law goes further in terms of marine protection. For instance, all bycatch must be released, and sharks that wash ashore cannot be mutilated. The protection of mangroves, seagrass, and reefs is included, and harvesting live coral is now banned.