Partners and countries
The Indian Ocean Commission (IOC- www.coi-ioc.org ) is an intergovernmental organization with five member states: Comoros, France (La Reunion), Madagascar, Mauritius and Seychelles.
The Mauritius Oceanography Institute (MOI - http://moi.gov.mu), a parastatal research organisation functioning under the aegis of the Prime Minister's Office, is responsible for the formulation, implementation and coordination of scientific programmes relating to the protection, exploration and development of marine living and non-living resources in the Maritime Zones of the Republic of Mauritius.
The AMESD thematic activities in the south west Indian Ocean region (THEMA - "Marine and coastal management") have been defined following a large consultation and an evaluation of needs in the IOC region.
Regional workshops held in Mauritius in March 2008 and January 2009, missions in countries and contacts made during the preparation of this THEMA have enabled to identify a number of regional partners and to determine the products and the services to be developed.
The THEMA covers needs expressed by:
- institutions in charge of fish resources management and fisheries:
- data and indicators useful to asses fish stock evolutions and trends
- data and tools to improve the efficiency of fisheries monitoring and control (fighting against illegal fishing)
- oceanic parameters data and indicators to correlate with fish stock and fisheries
- tools to improve the dissemination of data to artisanal fishermen communities
- regional research centre and institutes in oceanography:
- physical oceanography and marine climatology data
- indicators to monitor the effects of climate change
The THEMA partner countries are:
- IOC members countries : Mauritius, Seychelles, Comoros, Madagascar (La Réunion as associate)
- countries bordering the Canal of Mozambique: Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique
- two small associated island states: Sao Tome & Principe, Cape Verde
Products and services
Two kinds of services will be developed during the project:
- service for the management of fisheries resources with two components:
- Support the monitoring and management of fisheries resources
- Support the monitoring and control of fishing activities
- service to disseminate indicators in physical oceanography and marine climatology
Corresponding products and services are briefly described in the tables below:
|
Support for monitoring and control of fishing activities |
|
|
Identified needs |
Tools for a better control and monitoring of fisheries activities. |
|
Beneficiaries |
Fisheries Monitoring Centers/ Authorities in charge of monitoring fisheries / Fisheries Research Institutes / Artisanal and small scale fishermen |
|
Description of service |
System to receive, proceed and visualize ocean observation data and to produce, in near real time, products useful for the locating of fish resources (Potential Fishing Zone) and for fisheries monitoring. Marine meteorological data and maps of Potential Fishing Zone could be diffused, by the ministries of fisheries, to the artisanal fishermen under certain conditions (good practices). |
|
Corresponding data and products |
Sea Surface Temperature , Chlorophyll (ocean color) Sea level elevation, wind , waves, current, marine meteorology Potential Fishing Zone maps |
|
Support for monitoring and management of fish resources |
|
|
Identified needs |
Tools to analyze regional changes in ocean parameters and their impacts on marine resources / Pelagic (tuna) fish resources indicators. |
|
Beneficiaries |
Ministries of Fisheries / Fisheries research institutes / regional organization (Indian Ocean Tuna Commission,...) |
|
Description of service |
Software and data (real time reception) allowing: - a cross analysis of ocean parameters and fisheries (statistics, VMS data....) |
|
Corresponding data and products |
Chlorophyll, Sea Surface Temperature and thermal fronts, Sea level elevation, currents. Temporal parameters and anomalies. |
|
Indicators in physical oceanography |
|
|
Identified needs |
Regional data in marine climatology Atlas and indicators (sea-level, wind, waves...) to monitor the effects of climate change. |
|
Beneficiaries |
Coastal and marine engineers / Marine security agencies / Universities and oceanography institutes / Meteorological centers |
|
Description of service |
Web server allowing the visualization of: - archive data in physical oceanography (a specific data base will be developed at the MOI) |
|
Corresponding data and products |
Data base in physical oceanography |
Activities
Activities will concern:
- equipment of MOI and regional partners for:
- the setting up of services (receiving antenna, data processing chain...)
- the measurement for calibration/validation of products
- the training of regional technicians and decision makers with specific training sessions related to:
- remote sensing and spatial oceanography data processing : ocean color, altimetry
- numerical modeling (marine currents)
- oceanic environment and fish resources relations
- the use of spatial data for fish resources management
- data processing and EumetCast receiving station
- the use of AMESD products and services
- research & development for the realization of products:
- calculation of specific indicators for fich resources management
- maps of potential fishing zones
- data base and regional oceanography atlas
- validation and dissemination of products with :
- field measurement for validation/calibration
- pilot actions for the dissemination of products
- communication
