Typologie des pêcheurs embarqués pêchant dans et aux abords de la Réserve Naturelle Marine de La Réunion (enquêtes de juillet à octobre 2010)

Marine Protected Areas (MPA) have turned to be a privileged tool for sustainable management of coastal areas and associated activities. But MPA's results for biodiversity and sustainable fisheries have to be assessed. That is the aim of PAMPA project, which is built on the experience of 7 French MPAs in the Mediterranean sea and in the overseas territories. In this PAMPA project, Ifremer Océan Indien has mainly been involved in the analysis of fisheries data and opinion surveys, conducted from July to October 2010, towards fishermen on board around the coral reef. About sixty fishermen have been interviewed. Only two of them denied answering. Recreational fishers are "local people", about forty or fifty years old, regularly at sea, but without fishing habits (no specific fishing site), just fishing when weather is ok or fish rumoured to be abundant ("fishing season"). The main fishing techniques are troll-line (pelagic fish) and bottom hand-line (bottom fish). Catches and yields are moderate (50 to 500 kg / year) with about one hundred days at sea. Interviewed commercial fishermen go out more often (200 to 300 days a year) and catch over 500 kg / year. With regard to their perception of the Natural Marine Reserve, which has been created recently, the fishermen feel informed enough despite complex regulations, but do not feel (or little) involved in the decision process. They exhibit different opinions about the relevance of regulation, but all agree that it is poorly applied (complexity, lack of acceptance, lack of control). Last, the fishermen acknowledge (or suppose) beneficial effects on the environment but not on their fishing activity or upon the local economy. These opinion surveys provide useful indicators for a better understanding of fishery activities nearby the Marine Reserve, and therefore may be useful for this activity to be better taken into account by the manager. As the Marine Reserve aims to improve the ecosystem (habitats and resources), it appears relevant to carry out this kind of survey, every 4 or 5 years and using the same indicators. It could allow the manager to monitor stakeholder attitudes and practices, and their perception about the legitimacy of the Marine Reserve.