Suivi des pêches à pied traditionnelles et de la chasse sous-marine de 2008 à 2011 dans la Réserve Naturelle Marine de La Réunion

The recent creation of the Réserve Naturelle Marine (Natural Marine Reserve) of La Réunion (RNMR) island in 2007 has provided a legal status to the traditional coastal fisheries and to the spear-fishing operating on the coral reef habitat. This legal frame implies fisheries surveillance and patrolling along with scientific surveys and monitoring, such as the "PechTrad" collaborative project, lead jointly by the RNMR and the French Research Institute for Exploration of the Sea (Ifremer). Four types of fisheries are allowed with specific regulation on the coral reef ecosystem and are analysed here after a 4-year survey (2008-2011): the beach seine targeting the yellowstripe goatfish (Mulloidichthys flavolineatus), the octopus shallow water collecting, the angling (with or without a reel) and the spear-fishing (apnea). The comparison from year to year was possible thank to a standardized protocol, the definition of an accurate spatial referential, the creation of a secured data base which allows the simplification of the computing process. According to the collected data, the use of a simple angling rod without reel shows the lowest significant yields, next to 0.2 or 0.3 kg /hour /fisherman. The use of a reel for angling and the beach seining provide comparable yields around 0.5 to 1 kg/ hour/ fisherman. The yields of the octopus shorefishing and spear-fishing are by far the highest (>1 kg / hour/ fisherman) but are more difficult to estimate. The numbers of fishermen and the fishing durations of these various fisheries need to be better investigated in order to have a reliable estimation of the whole annual catches. Moreover, even if it shows some bias, the analysis of the fishermen annual mandatory declarations of catches may contribute to improve these data collection and should be more investigated in the future. The time series of fishing parameters do not exhibit over-fishing indices, excepted for some targeted species of the reel angling which may need to be deeper analysed in the coming years. These survey data provide a better understanding of the coastal fishing pressure, its implications on the reef ecosystem and its socio-economic outputs. They allow to provide scientific advices on these local fisheries management for a sustainable use. On the short term, the spatial referential could be shared with surveys in situ for data crossing/comparison in order to have a better assessment of the fishing impact on stocks and to evaluate the effect of policy measures such as no take zones or sanctuaries.