Summary of the fisheries and resources information for the Comores

by
J.R. Williams James
Ecole Nationale de la Pêche,
Boite Postale 351, Mutsamudu,
Anjouan, Comores

ABSTRACT
1. INTRODUCTION
2. THE ARTISANAL FISHERY
3. BIBLIOGRAPHY

ABSTRACT

Fishing takes place around the three main islands of Moheli, Anjouan and Grande Comore. The paper provides an estimate of the annual catch in recent years of 7,307 tonnes. There is no comprehensive fisheries statistics system. There are believed to be about 8,000 artisanal fishermen and about 3,036 boats. Some 60 percent of the catches are claimed to be demersal species caught by handlines. The remainder are large pelagics (mainly tunas).

There have been no resource assessment studies, however, the contemporary opinion is that the nearshore resources presently being fished are at or near the level of full exploitation. It is suggested that increased fishing effort on the more distant and deeper grounds (eg. north and southeast of Moheli) would produce only a modest increase in annual catches.

1. INTRODUCTION

The fisheries of the Comores, which take place around the three main islands Moheli, Anjouan and Grande Comore (for locations see Figure 1.1) are essentially artisanal in nature. Their development has been somewhat neglected, although in recent years a number of international aid projects have provided commodities (boats, engines and fishing gears) and institutional support. The government has established a regional fisheries development agency (SODEPEC), whose present role is limited to the selling of fishing gears.

Figure 1.1 Place locations for the Comores.

The administration of fisheries is undertaken within the Department of Fisheries in the Ministry of Production (see Figure 1.2). This includes a staff of three marine engineers and a technical commissioner. Fisheries development is also assisted through the National School of Fisheries built in 1984 with funds from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

This school is under the charge of the Ministry of Production and is staffed by a Director of Administration, two Japanese experts (in navigation, fisheries and mechanics) and seven national instructors. Tuition is provided in fisheries, navigation, mechanics, electricity, management and fibre glass hull construction. The courses of two years duration are geared towards upgrading the skills of the artisanal fishermen. The first group of about 24 students are soon to graduate and return to their villages for a further year of practical training.

Figure 1.2 Organisation of the fisheries institutions

Ministry of Production
Department of Fisheries
National School of Fisheries	Regional Unit for Development (SODEPEC)

Fisheries development is also assisted through the National Bank of Development, which provides fishermen with loans for the purchase of boats.

Very few biological investigations have been undertaken, and the documentation of the catches, efforts and the fish species in the catches is scarce. Systematic statistical data collection has never taken place and all the production figures published. so far have been the result of more or less educated guesses.

Notwithstanding, the introduction of a "Fiche de pêche" by SODEPEC and records kept by the Ecole National de Pêche at Anjouan have produced some hard data on catch rates. This information is presented below with some less precise data from earlier years. It seems the estimates of the numbers of fishermen and pirogues, and the quantities landed have gradually increased since a survey made in 1962, although there may have been a tendency to overestimate the catches in recent years. The performance of the newly introduced boat type "vedette" (Yamaha BLC30) seems to be good all the year round, while the much smaller pirogues are dependent on weather conditions, which cause shifts in performance between the East and West coasts.

2. THE ARTISANAL FISHERY

Location: The fishermen from Anjouan are reputed to fish regularly at Moheli and Mayotte while those from Grande Comore also operate at Moheli. The boats (vedette type) belonging to the National School of Fisheries are operated mainly at Moheli. It is likely that the fishing grounds off Moheli are more heavily fished by fishermen from the other islands than by the local fishermen. The approximate distances between the islands are given below in Table 2.1.

Table 2.1 Distance between the islands

	Distances (n. miles)
	Moheli	Anjouan	Grande Comore
Moheli	--	30	40
Anjouan	30	--	40
Grande Comore	40	40	--

Boats: Presently there are two principal boat types. The pirogues used from Grande Comore are of 4 m length and fitted with two outriggers. At the other islands they are 7 m long with a single outrigger. The duration of the fishing trips is generally 18 to 20 hours if the pirogues are motorised, and 13 hours if non-motorised.

The larger "vedette" type were provided by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Out of the original fifty some 35 are still operational. They are mostly 9.1 m in length, 1.5 tonnes GRT and powered by a 10.5 HP Yamaha inboard motor. Three of these are operated by the National School of Fisheries together with a larger vedette of 5 tonnes GRT. Fishing trips may last 3 or more days, due to the "vedette" having the capacity to carry 1.5 tonnes of ice.

The most recent estimates of the numbers of each type of boat are given in the following Table 2.2.

Table 2.2 Number of boats by type and location

Location	Boat Type	Number of Boats
Grande Comore	Pirogues	1,500
	Vedettes	11
Anjouan	Pirogues	1,200
	Vedettes	18
	Boat	1
Moheli	Pirogues	300
	Vedettes	6

Source: National School of Fisheries

Gear: By far the most common gear in use are handlines. The estimate by the National School of Fisheries for the three islands is 4,800 handlines, with one hook per line. There are 15 locally made gillnets, generally used around Anjouan (100 m in length, 1.5 m deep and having a mesh size of 14 cm) and 100 nets provided through Japanese aid (to SODEPEC). In addition there are about 50 traps in use around Anjouan and Grande Comore.

Fishermen: Presently the best estimate for the number of fishermen is 4,000 for Grand Comore, 3,250 for Anjouan and 750 for Moheli, with the total being 8,000. About 50 percent of the total is represented by fishermen operating without boats. This type of fisherman is most prevalent at Anjouan.

Catch Effort and Catch per Unit Effort: Some statistics collected in 1962 during a mission led by Moal (1962) are given in the following Table 2.3

Table 2.3 Fisheries Statistics for 1962

Location	Numbers of fishermen		Number of Pirogues	Annual Catches (t)
	Part Time	Full Time
Moheli	115	25	59	120
Anjouan	>297	19	>156	>220
Grande Comore (East)	491	216	268	650
Grande Comore (West)	1,209	335	660	-
TOTALS	>2,112	595	>1,143	>990

Source: Moal (1962)

Subsequently very rough estimates were reported at the Regional Fisheries Resources Workshop held in the Seychelles (FAO/IOP, 1979) as given below in Table 2.4. They suggest a substantial increase in catches since 1962, particularly for the fishermen based at Anjouan.

Table 2.4 Fisheries Statistics for 1978

Location	Numbers of Pirogues	Annual Catches (tonnes)
Moheli	200	200
Anjouan	1,000	1,000
Grande Comore	1,500	1,500
TOTALS	2,700	2,700

Source: FAO/IOP (1979)

De San (1983) reports an estimated production in 1981 of 4,250 tonnes, of which 2,250 tonnes are tunas and tuna-like species and an estimated production in 1979 (based on trade and consumption figures) of 4,010 tonnes, distributed as in Table 2.5. The table also includes his estimates of the numbers of pirogues operating in 1983.

Table 2.5 Fisheries statistics for 1979 and 1981 (catches) and 1983 (numbers of pirogues)

Location	Estimated Numbers of Pirogues in 1983	Estimated Annual Catches (tonnes)
		1979	1981
Moheli	300	410
Anjouan	1,200	1,440
Grande Comore	1,500	2,160
TOTALS	3,000	4,010	4,250

Source: De San (1983)

Van Nierop (1985) examined the data forms collected from the fishermen of Anjouan by SODEPEC for the period November 1984 through February 1985 (high season months) to obtain the estimates provided in Table 2.6. His report also refers to the numbers of fishermen being 650 on Moheli, 3,500 at Anjouan and 4,500 at Grande Comore. The estimated number of trips per boat was also given as 60 in the four high season months and 90 in the eight months of low season, for a total of 150 trips per year.

The Comores continues to be without a system for the routine collection of fisheries statistics. The most recent enquiry by the National School of Fisheries involved visits to 44 villages on Anjouan during August 1987 (Table 2.7). A rough estimate of the annual catch for these villages based on the underlying data is 1,316 tonnes, including 765 tonnes from the pirogues and 551 tonnes from the vedettes.

Table 2.6 Catches per unit effort by type of boat for Anjouan in 1984/85 high season

Month	Trips Sampled	Catch/Trip (kg)			No. Fishermen/trip			Catch/Fisherman/trip (kg)			Trip Duration (hr)
		PT	PM	V	PT	PM	V	PT	PM	V	PT	PM	V
Nov 84	23	39.1	78.2	228.5	2	2	5.5	19.6	39.1	41.5	11.7	10.4	23.0
Dec 84	12	23.6	114.3	219.8	2	2	5.6	11.8	57.2	39.3	9.6	6.8	21.7
Jan 85	21	59.7	67.6	284.1	2	2	5.8	29.9	33.8	49.9	9.3	15.1	14.7
Feb 85	17	31.1	35.4	294.5	2	2	5.0	15.6	17.7	58.4	10.0	10.6	14.1
Average	18	39.7	69.0	252.4	2	2	5.5	19.9	34.5	45.6	10.5	11.4	18.6

Source: Van Nierop (1985)

Note:

PT = traditional pirogue
PM = motorised pirogue
V = vedette with Yamaha 30 HP.

Table 2.7 Fisheries statistics for Anjouan in 1987

Number of villages visited	44
Total No. of Fishermen	1,361 (range 8-151/village)
Total No. of Boats	504 pirogues
	18 vedettes
Av. Catch Rates (kg/boat trip)	pirogues 14.6 (range 10-30 sample of 44 boats)
	vedettes 250.0 (range 200-300; sample of 5 boats)
Av. No. of Trips per Year	pirogues 103.9 (range 100 - 110)
	vedettes 122.5 (range 110 - 120)

Source: National School of Fisheries

The following much more precise data are available in respect of the 4 vedettes operated by the National School of Fisheries (boats combined). They were collected during the period from January 1986 through August 1987.

Table 2.8 Fisheries statistics for the four boats operated by the Ecole Nationale de la Pêche.

Month	1986			1987
	No. of Trips	Catch (kg)	Catch/Trip (kg)	No. of Trips	Catch (kg)	Catch/Trip (kg)
Jan	13	1,874	144	10	1,553	155
Feb	2	279	140	11	2,338	213
March	14	1,376	98	14	4,986	356
April	11	1,113	101	12	3,037	253
May	20	2,765	138	9	3,669	408
June	10	791	79	15	2,105	140
July	19	1,784	94	15	2,621	174
August	19	3,600	189	8	2,727	341
Sept	17	4,006	234
Oct	21	4,804	229
Nov	16	2,915	182
Dec	16	4,206	263
TOTALS	178	29,513	166	(94)	(23,036)	(245)

Source: National School of Fisheries

Note: The landings were made from three boats of 1.5 tonnes (4 fishermen each), and one boat of 5 tonnes (7 fishermen). The gear consisted of handlines and sometimes trolling lines. The fishing areas were on the continental shelf of Moheli.

A further attempt at estimating the annual catch for the Comores was undertaken at this workshop. It is based on the more recent of the information presented earlier. The numbers of boats and catch rates used will need further verification. Probably a much lower figure (25% lower) should be used for the number of pirogues.

Table 2.9 Fisheries statistics estimated from most recent data

Pirogues:	104 trips per year, average catch per trip 20 kg
Vedettes:	122 trips per year, average catch per trip 250 kg
No. of pirogues:	Moheli 300, Anjouan 1,200, Grande Comore 1,500, total 3,000
No. of vedettes:	Moheli 6, Anjouan 18, Grande Comore 11, total 35
Total catch pirogues:	3,000 x 104 x 20/1,000	= 6,240 t
Total catch vedettes:	35 x 122 x 250/1,000	= 1,067 t
	Grand Total	= 7,307 t

Source: This Fisheries Resources Workshop

Species: Demersal species are believed to constitute about 60 percent of the total catch, with most of the remainder being large pelagics (mainly tunas). Van Nierop (1985) reports that the species composition of the pirogues and vedettes is approximately the same, but that the average weight of the individual fish caught with the pirogues (3.2 - 3.3 kg) is much lower than with the vedette (5.4 kg). In respect to the latter boats, skipjack and yellowfin tuna formed some 50 percent of the catches.

A small stock of the spiny lobster (Panulirus versicolor, P. penicillatus, P. longipes and P. ornatus) exists which is utilised largely for consumption by the local expatriates.

Areas of Fishing Grounds: The continental shelves of the three islands were re-measured during the Workshop, with the values obtained being substantially different than those reported at the FAO/IOP Workshop held in 1978.

Table 2.10 Areas of fishing grounds

Locations	Areas of Fishing Grounds (km2)
	0-100 m	0-200 m
Moheli	721	300
Anjouan	64	250
Grande Comore	300	350
Totals	1,085	900

Source: This Fisheries Resources Workshop in respect to the values for the 0 - 100 m depths and FAO/IOP (1979) for the 0 - 200 m depths.

The largest island Grande Comore and Anjouan, have very narrow shelf areas, while the shelf area of the small island Moheli is relatively large. The area of ground between 100 and 200 m depth is very small in all cases.

Productivity per Unit Area: Using the estimates of annual catch and the most recent estimates for the areas of the fishing grounds, the estimate for the Comores is roughly 7 tonnes/km2. This is a little higher than the value (5 tonnes/km2) often assumed for highly productive grounds having coral reefs. It seems reasonable to conclude that the further increases in production have to come from deeper waters in the form of tunas and other large pelagics.

Resource Assessments: There have been no assessments of the resources exploited by the artisanal fishermen. The contemporary opinion, however, is that the nearshore resources are at or near the level of full exploitation, and that any increases in the catches would be the consequence of fishing on the more distant and deeper grounds (such as off the north and southeast of Moheli). Having in mind the very narrow continental shelves, the unrealised potential is likely to be modest.

3. BIBLIOGRAPHY

FAO/IOP (1979) - Workshop on the Fishery Resources of the Western Indian Ocean south of the Equator, Mahe, Seychelles, 23 October - 4 November 1978. Devt. Rep. Indian Ocean Programme., (45): 102 p.

MOAL, R.A. (1962) La Pêche aux Comores, La Société Centrale pour l'équipement du territoire coopération - Ministère d'Etat chargé des départements et territoires d'outre mer - Territoire des Comores. Septembre 1962: 78 p.

NIEROP, M. van. (1985) - Rapport préliminaire sur la performance des embarcations de pêche sur l'ile d'Anjouan aux Comores. RAF/79/065/WP/20/85: 14 p.

SAN, M. de. (1983) - Profil de la pêche artisanale aux Comores. RAF/79/065/WP/06/83: 21 p.