Breaking news - keep your eye on the coral

            We have had several days of welcome rain and the level of water in Mare aux Vacoas reservoir has gone up a little.  
Our Marine Park at Balaclava is in a sorry state and recently a report on the Marine Park at Blue Bay found that much of the coral in the reserve is damaged or dead and fish stocks are sadly depleted. Today's newspaper carries a report that the Marine Park at Blue Bay has been badly affected by mud running into the lagoon from the construction works to extend the runway at the airport. A part of the bay is now under a thick layer of mud. 

A telephone line has been set up to take complaints about illegal fishing ( eg spearguns, fishing at night with torches, epervier nets). But there has been little publicity for this, so far no public service announcements to explain which fishing practices are illegal and why, therefore business carries on as usual ie people fishing illegally can be seen at most beaches.

Fishing for octopus .. which normally means trampling coral and breaking it to get hold of the octopus, if necessary with a metal bar, does not seem to count as illegal fishing and there is no closed season for octopus to take into account when the females are hatching their eggs.(  I couldn't find any information on line as to when this happens in Mauritian seas either. Would seem to be a good topic for research).

Once again the seine fishing season is open. Using these weighted nets damages coral in the lagoon even when they are used in the permitted manner but I think they are often used in ways that contravene the regulations arnd are likely to be even more destructive.

The ban on fishing sea cucumbers has been extended until 2016.

And horses are no longer to be allowed on public beaches.

All's well in paradise?

Taken on: December 10, 2011

Tags:

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Sets appears in: • underwater • underwater more » • 2012 « less

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Camera: Sony DSC-W290, f/3.5, 1/100 sec, 5.8mm, ISO 125 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Sony DSC-W290
Aperture:	f/3.5
Exposure Time:	0.01 sec (1/100)
Focal Length:	5.8mm
ISO:	125
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Program AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Picasa
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