Pre-assessment made available

Participants list

Memorandum of Understanding

2023 Updated Workplan

Workplan available

The FIP has produced a catch composition report demonstrating that octopus constitutes the majority of the catch while secondary species, including sea cucumbers, squid, and crabs, represent less than 1% of the catch.

The results of the 2024 regional closures have been made available; 21 villages implemented over three-month closures on octopus fishing, significantly increasing the number, size, and duration of these restrictions. The first two opening days yielded 44 tons of octopus, up from 24 tons in 2023 and 12 tons in 2018.

An updated 2024 stock assessment of the SW Madagascar day octopus was published.

The FIP has conducted missions to promote sustainable octopus fisheries in northern Madagascar through community meetings, empirical surveys, and education on fishing laws. Insights obtained from the missions include fishing techniques, breeding and recruitment periods, and the need for further studies on the bioecology of octopus species to enhance management.

The FIP has produced a report that outlines the mission to ensure sustainable octopus fishing in Madagascar's Atsimo-Andrefana region through regional and national workshops, data sharing, and awareness campaigns. Key activities include updating complaint mechanisms, protecting fishermen's rights, and conducting scientific studies on octopus breeding cycles to guide management practices.

The FIP has conducted a catch composition analysis which revealed a diverse catch structure.

The FIP met  to conduct a preliminary assessment of the octopus stock; a regional fishing workshop based on the findings is planned for this year.

The FIP met with the Ministry of Fisheries and Economy to discuss the implementation of regional and national workshops on octopus fishing to validate the HCR for stakeholders.

The country directors of Blue Ventures, WWF, and WCS in Madagascar have collectively signed and submitted commitment letters to the CGP, pledging to collaboratively share available data for annual stock assessments.

A high-level catch composition analysis was conducted using data from July - September 2023. The results showed that the catch is predominantly composed of fish, sea cucumber, and shelled species, with lower quantities of oyster and squid also identified.

Two CGP representatives participated in the octopus festival in Rodrigues, Seychelles; the exchange provided valuable insights into best practices applicable to the southwest region of Madagascar.

The FIP attended a regional workshop led by MIHARI on local association governance evaluations. At the workshop, BV presented data and methodologies for measuring compliance. The CGP plans to incorporate compliance measures across the region in upcoming funding proposals.

The FIP continues to collect and report catch data; two trainings have been held with data collectors focused on the utilization of mobile devices for data collection, along with basic analysis and interpretation skills.

The CGP scientific team participated in a workshop to share results on the stock assessment of octopus (and other species) organized by the RESOLVE scientific team. The group discussed and explored various stock assessment methods. 

The FIP has created a method for measuring compliance based on a series of questions posed to stakeholders which is organized and compiled into scores for each management measure, resulting in an overall score for the LMMA. A workshop will be held in the coming months to present findings from the pilot and determine next steps.

The FIP has re-analyzed catch data from 2020 since the previous results were not properly presented and were inconclusive. The results of the analysis determined that sea cucumbers were identified as minor secondary species.

A data collection and sharing agreement was drafted during the stock assessment workshop. Validation and data harmonization workshops will be organized for stakeholders in the coming months.

The CGP produced a short outreach film on the regional closure from Dec 15th to Jan 31st which was broadcast on local TV and features the Regional Fisheries Authority Director.

CGP stakeholders have been participating in Ministry of Fisheries regional office-led workshops; the workshops have focused on data collection methods including differentiating octopus species and setting a minimum number of days per week for CPUE monitoring.

A draft data-sharing agreement between CGP and FIP participants has been made available

The CGP has developed a value chain quality improvement project plan; the project will focus on improving the killing methods and handling of octopus and will develop a quality grading system.

The stock assessment for the octopus fishery in Southwest Madagascar has been published. 

The first draft of the stock assessment for the octopus fishery in SW Madagascar has been completed; further revision is underway prior to finalization

Ecological monitoring training session and outreach meeting held for the FIP; awareness materials circulated and made available

The CGP held a regional meeting to discuss the extension of the temporary octopus reserve with officials from the Ministry.

The first meeting of the technical steering committee of CGP was conducted in late 2021; workshop report made available

Technical paper produced describing the methodology for crab population study

Draft of the ToR/Agenda produced for the upcoming TSC meeting in October '21

Ecological monitoring reef reports of Nosy Fasy produced; reports revealed a high coverage of algae and abiotic categories with low hard coral cover and low abundance of octopus species

Brief report summarizing the process of the Velondriake Management Plan

Ecological Monitoring Report was presented 

Final report of the FIP workshop held on December 2020 to put in place a regional steering committee to lead the conception of the Octopus Specific Management Plan for the South-West region

 Draft ToR for Secretary Executive of the CGP platforn published 

Ongoing study underway: identification of the principal and potential prey & predator of the octopus species within its trophic level

The catch composition monitoring program is in place and data continues to be collected on secondary species. 

A Committee for Surveilance & Evaluation training workshop was conducted

Strategic document drafted for the management of migrant fishers in the South-West Region of Madagascar

Study conducted to give an overview of the impact of the octopus fishery on ETP hard coral and VMEs within the UoC.

A workshop with a goal to share and discuss the results of the study within the association management committee has been conducted in order to create a management strategy for migrant fishers.

Data collectors workshop held on the collection of secondary species data

The CGP (COMITE DE GESTION DU POULPE) is officially launched

Five year Management Plan for Velondriake LMMA made available

Velondriake Management Committee has decided to partially close the Nosy Fasy site and has restricted the fishing effort within the zonation based on recent report findings

PI score 3.2.3 increase; The MCS system has been improved and applied to all of the LMMAs within the UoA. 

PI score 2.3.3. increase; The octopus monitoring programme has updated its data frame logbook to include information on ETP species since 2019

The catch composition program is now enshrined in the yearly work plan of the Velondriake Locally Managed Marine Area (LMMA), and a trimestriel analysis of the bycatch is put in place by our Monitoring Evaluation & Learning (MEL) team.The first analysis of the octopus bycatch is done, and shows that the fishery does not have any significant impacts that need to be addressed, even for the sea cucumber. 

Increase to PI 3.2.2; a scientific team has been created to support decision-making processes for the implementation of action plan activities. Decision-making exists within the precautionary approach.

Increase to PI 1.1.1; a revised stock assessment was conducted in 2023 using 2021 data. The 2021 data demonstrates that exploitation is happening at a sustainable rate and the stock is maintained at a healthy level. The CGP also conducted a stock assessment for 2022 and the results yielded similar findings with fishing mortality below natural mortality levels. 

Increase to PI 2.5.1;  the impact to the trophic functioning of benthic ecosystems including the status of eels, reef flat crabs and coral is low.

PI score increase 2.3.1; An ecological monitoring programme has been put in place giving the FIP access to assess the effect of the octopus fishery on hard corals.

PI score 2.2.1 increase; main secondary species are highly likely to be above biologically based limits.