Marine Resource Management for Misali Island: Preliminary Analysis by Frontier-Tanzania

Abstract—In collaboration with local stakeholders, Frontier-Tanzania is collecting biophysical information to facilitate effective management initiatives for Misali Island, where marine resource management is currently limited to a 1.4-km2 non-extraction zone within a 21.6-km2 conservation area. In the study reported here, the extraction and non-extraction zones at Misali Island with similar substrata were compared. Data analysis showed a significant disassociation in both abundance and mean length patterns of fish families found in each zone. Further analysis using t-tests on individual families showed that some groups were significantly more abundant in either zone, but without significant differences of mean lengths. Fish family abundance and length records within and outside the non-extraction zone are likely to be affected to varying degrees by a combination of four main factors, including (i) direct fishing effects through target species, (ii) indirect fishing effects through catch of predatory species, (iii) habitat-dependence and (iv) effectiveness of the non-extraction zone.