Artisanal fishers in small island developing states and their perception of environmental change: the case study of Mauritius

Abstract

Small island developing states (SIDS) are highly dependent on coastal marine resources. Artisanal fishers in SIDS currently face multiple stressors related to global environmental change. Considering Mauritius (South Western Indian Ocean) as a case study, this paper characterizes artisanal fishers in SIDS and assesses their perception of global change using the Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK) approach. A semi-structured survey method was used to interview 247 fishers from all around the country. Artisanal fishers used multiple fishing areas and gears, with half of the fishers using Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs). Six main groups of fishers were identified according to their fishing strategies, which reflected different target species in their reported catches. The majority of fishers reported lower fish abundances and fewer species now compared to 10 to 15 years ago. All groups of fishers observed environmental change over the same period. Such ecological knowledge highlights the exposure of fishers to stressors induced by environmental change. The characterization of the groups of fishers and their fishing strategies will be useful to better evaluate adaptation strategies and support management measures to face global environmental change. Graphical Abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]