A prototype of collaborative observatory of the octopus fishery in the southwest region of Madagascar

Background
Octopus (Octopus cyanea) fishing is an important part of the national economy and a
source of income for fishers in Southwestern Madagascar. Buyers and fishers are
aware of the decrease in octopus stocks. Currently, the Octopus Management
Committee (OMC) includes export companies, fishers' associations, and
international organizations and is committed to ensuring the sustainability of the
fishery through a spirit of co-management.
Method
In this context, an action research project has been conducted since 2021 to develop
a fishery information system through collaboration between research institutions and
the OMC. Workshops and field observations were carried out to establish a common
monitoring protocol that would be implemented by partner NGOs to estimate the
following indicators of the octopus fishery in the region: number of fishers, fishing
effort, and catches per species.
Results
An Android application was then developed using ODK Collect tool to facilitate data
storage in a centralized, online database hosted on a IH.SM’s server, Toliara. An R
Shiny application is developed to perform filtering and calculation of the desired
indicators (e.g., octopus catch size distribution, monthly calibrated catch per unit of
effort), and visualize and map the results, that are eventually to be transferred to the
fisher communities. A data sharing agreement is under discussion to formalize.
Conclusion
This work has been based on Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)
tools to contribute to science-based, collaborative fishery monitoring as an
operational approach to strengthen the co-management of the octopus fishery at the
scale of the region.