Africa-Press – Cape verde. Overfishing and climate change have seriously affected marine life and fishing communities in Cape Verde, where fishermen report daily impacts, and environmentalists continue to warn about environmental risks.
Experts have warned of rising water temperatures, which have led to the migration of some species of fish in search of cooler waters, and fishermen from the municipality of Tarrafal de Santiago, as well as other fishing communities, have also reported facts and situations experienced at different times of the year.
In addition to the daily decrease in fish, the scarcity of other marine species is also evident, forcing fishermen to seek other forms of sustainability.
In an interview with Inforpress, the president of Biosfera, Tommy Melo, explained that the change in water temperature causes some schools of fish to move mainly further north, in search of cooler waters.
And, in Cape Verde, he highlighted that this is clearly visible, giving the example of a species of mackerel that arrived in the country a few years ago and of which there were very few records before, but which is now being caught in large quantities.
In addition to climate change, the accelerated extraction of sand from beaches is also seen as a critical threat to marine ecosystems, a situation that fishermen are already aware of.
The expert confirmed this fact, explaining that a sandy beach takes thousands of years to form and the ecosystem that lives there took thousands of years to adapt to this new conformity, and that aside from that, he highlighted that there are many species that follow their life cycle and need sandy bottoms for their life cycle.
“Obviously, removing all the sand from a beach that took thousands of years to form in 10 years will definitely cause an imbalance in the ecosystem, especially for species that needed this sandy bottom for their life cycle,” he said, stressing that this could be for reproduction or even because they live close to the sandy substrate.
Overfishing in the limited coastal areas of Cape Verde is also an aspect that concerns the environmentalist, because, according to him, Cape Verde does not have a continental shelf like that of neighboring countries and the geographical characteristics make the region even more vulnerable to the depletion of marine resources.
As a solution, Tommy Melo, like other environmental organizations, advocates the creation and strengthening of protection zones and marine reserves, in addition to the implementation of rest periods for the recovery of species.
“These are merely management solutions. There is no need to invent anything here, as these are solutions that already exist and have been applied for a long time in other countries, and Cape Verde already has these solutions, very well written down in laws and regulations”, he pointed out, stressing that what is needed is to put them into practice and ensure that monitoring actually takes place.
However, he acknowledged that these measures require compensation for fishing families who depend on the catches for their livelihood, reinforcing that the Government must create alternative income solutions for these families who will be left without this livelihood because the fishing areas they used to use will actually have to rest in order to recover the fauna that existed there.
And as a viable alternative source of income, this environmentalist spoke of sustainable tourism, pointing out Cape Verde’s proximity to Europe as being one of the advantages.
He warned, however, that the accelerated pace of environmental degradation, including overfishing, sand extraction and coastal construction, threatens to reduce tourism potential before it is even fully exploited.
In this sense, it is urgent to effectively implement environmental protection policies, preserving the ecosystem and promoting sustainable alternatives for the population.
Scientific studies indicate that the combination of climate change and overfishing seriously threatens marine ecosystems and fishing communities in Cabo Verde.
Collaborative projects, such as the Coastal Fisheries Initiative, supported by FAO, seek to promote sustainable practices to mitigate these impacts, focusing on training and sustainable development for local fishing communities.
These efforts aim to protect biodiversity and ensure livelihoods for Cabo Verdean fishermen, especially in areas where artisanal fishing is crucial to the economy.
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