How the Octopus Close Season Affected Women's Life in Rodrigues
THE OCTOPUS CLOSE SEASON PROGRAMME.
How it affected the “Piqueuse D’ourite in their daily life?
Rodrigues is a 108 square kilometre, volcanic originated island, located in the Indian Ocean at around 600 kilometres at the east of the mainland Mauritius.
It is surrounded by coral reef forming a lagoon with a rich biodiversity, which as twice the size of the land
It was formerly known as the tenth district of Mauritius, up to the 10th of December 2002, where it attained the status of autonomy, governed by the Rodrigues Regional Assembly.
The economy is mainly based on traditional fishing, low-scale farming, handicraft and an emerging tourism sector.
One of the most common means of traditional fishing, is the famous octopus catch, which is mainly done by the Rodriguan women, known here as the “piqueuse d’ourite”. This is done at low tide where the fisherman equipped with iron rods, pace up and down the coral barrier, in search of a hole where nests the mollusc.
The new government elected in February this year, expressed the wish to consolidate sustainable developments and protect local resources, for food security and protection of the environment.
In this connection a regulation was adopted by the Rodrigues Regional Assembly in July 2012 for the closure of octopus catch season as from August 2012 to October 2012.
This program is a joint collaboration financed by Smartfish and the Rodrigues Regional assembly. Smartfish is a regional programme financed by the European Union and is implemented by the Indian Ocean Commission in collaboration with the Common Market for Eastern and southern Africa (COMESA) , the east African community (EAC) and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development ( IGAB).
The Octopus fishers were called for a half day work in the interest of the environment against remuneration in order for them to cope with the loss of earnings.
The fisherwoman at the beginning of the project found a lot of difficulties
How it affected the “Piqueuse D’ourite in their daily life?
Rodrigues is a 108 square kilometre, volcanic originated island, located in the Indian Ocean at around 600 kilometres at the east of the mainland Mauritius.
It is surrounded by coral reef forming a lagoon with a rich biodiversity, which as twice the size of the land
It was formerly known as the tenth district of Mauritius, up to the 10th of December 2002, where it attained the status of autonomy, governed by the Rodrigues Regional Assembly.
The economy is mainly based on traditional fishing, low-scale farming, handicraft and an emerging tourism sector.
One of the most common means of traditional fishing, is the famous octopus catch, which is mainly done by the Rodriguan women, known here as the “piqueuse d’ourite”. This is done at low tide where the fisherman equipped with iron rods, pace up and down the coral barrier, in search of a hole where nests the mollusc.
The new government elected in February this year, expressed the wish to consolidate sustainable developments and protect local resources, for food security and protection of the environment.
In this connection a regulation was adopted by the Rodrigues Regional Assembly in July 2012 for the closure of octopus catch season as from August 2012 to October 2012.
This program is a joint collaboration financed by Smartfish and the Rodrigues Regional assembly. Smartfish is a regional programme financed by the European Union and is implemented by the Indian Ocean Commission in collaboration with the Common Market for Eastern and southern Africa (COMESA) , the east African community (EAC) and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development ( IGAB).
The Octopus fishers were called for a half day work in the interest of the environment against remuneration in order for them to cope with the loss of earnings.
The fisherwoman at the beginning of the project found a lot of difficulties