Monitoring Plan for RARE Conservation Result
Inshore Fish
No baseline data, control site methodology will be used.
Belt transects will be conducted in sea grass areas close to villages targeted by fishers using
destructive methods and in Andavadoaka where destructive fishing is not currently a problem. A
minimum of 3 100 x 5 x 5m transects will conducted on each site by snorkelling using standard
underwater visual census techniques (UVC after English et al 1997). All fish should be identified to at
least family level in the field. However, a camera will be taken on all surveys so juvenile fish which
may be hard to identify in the field can be identified later. No baseline data exists for this. Surveys
will begin in January 2010 and be completed at 6 month intervals until December 2012. Trained local
community members will be used to for this surveying. Trends in the data can be tracked against
data from the control site and it is hoped that recovery will be evident as the campaign progresses.
Metric: Shannon Diversity Index (SDI) correlated with fish abundance
Current state: No data collected at present but an estimation of SDI range in control site is 2.0-3.0.
Monitoring Target: 0.2-0.5 increase in SDI over 3 years
Mangrove fish
No baseline data, control site methodology will be used.
Surveys will be conducted in sea grass areas close to villages targeted by fishers using destructive
methods and in Andavadoaka where destructive fishing is not currently a problem. Belt transects
may be more problematic in mangrove areas due to complexity of the environment so a random
swim methodology will be used. Snorkelling observers will swim for 40 minutes in pre-identified
areas of mangroves and conduct fish biodiversity and abundance surveys to species level where
possible. No baseline data exists for this. Surveys will begin in January 2010 and be completed at 6
month intervals until December 2012. Trained local community members will be used to for this
surveying. Trends in the data can be tracked against data from the control site and it is hoped that
recovery will be evident as the campaign progresses.
Metric: Shannon Diversity Index (SDI) correlated with fish abundance
Current state: No data collected at present but an estimation of SDI range in control site is 1.5-2.5.
Monitoring Target: 0.2-0.5 increase in SDI over 4 years
Reef fish
Fish biomass belt transects are currently conducted on 34 reef sites across the Velondriake region.
For general presentation of figures for targets sites have been broadly divided by reef type. Fine
scale analysis is also possible on sites which may be particularly affected by a reduction in the use of
destructive fishing techniques. A minimum of 6 20 x 5 x 5m transects are completed on each site
using SCUBA and standard underwater visual census methods (English et al 1997). Data has been
collected since 2007 for herbivorous fish and 2008 for all species across 34 survey sites so baseline
data is present for the targeted areas. Sites are re-surveyed at least annually so trends in biomass
and species diversity can be recorded and any positive changes in fish abundance and diversity in
areas where destructive fishing practises are currently used may be attributed to the success of the
campaign.
Metric: Shannon Diversity Index (SDI) correlated with fish abundance. Fish biomass in kg/ha.
Current state: Baseline data from 2007 and 2008 gives an SDI range of 2.2 – 4.9. Baseline biomass
data from 2008:
Reef Type
Nearshore fringing
Offshore fringing
Patch
Biomass (kg/ha)
390
800
1.2
Monitoring Target: Increase the minimum SDI by 0.3 to 2.5 over 3 years. Aim for a 5% increase in
biomass of nearshore fringing reefs to 409kg/ha by 2015. Biomass of patch and offshore reefs less
likely to be influenced by reduction in beach seine and poison fishing. Patch reefs are within a
permanent reserve site and offshore fringing reefs are not located near areas of sea grass or
mangrove where destructive fishing activities occur. Thus patch and offshore fringing reefs can be
used as control habitat to monitor any natural fluctuations in fish abundance which may interfere
with the monitoring of the conservation result.
Timeline
Annual timeline detailed below. Monitoring will commence January 2010 and continue until
December 2012.
Activity
Seagrass surveys Belavenoke
Mangrove surveys Ankindranoke
Control surveys in Andavadoaka
Reef surveys ongoing
Seagrass surveys Belavenoke
Mangrove surveys Ankindranoke
Control surveys in Andavadoaka
Data entry and SDI calculation
Jan
Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul
Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Budget
Annual budget detailed below (all costs are in US $). Monitoring will commence January 2010 and
continue until December 2012. Total budget for the monitoring plan over three years is US$ 25,735.
Year 2: 2011
Year 2: 2011
Year 1: 2010
Objective
Reef surveying
Seagrass &
Mangrove
surveying
Reef surveying
Seagrass &
Mangrove
surveying
Reef surveying
Seagrass &
Mangrove
surveying
Item
Boat fuel (Vedette)
Boat fuel (Vedette)
Boat driver monthly salary
Compressor fuel
A4 underwater slate
Pencils
100m transect tape
Boat fuel (motorised pirogue)
Boat driver daily salary
Per diems for Velondriake scholars x 3
BV
6700
6700
6700
20100
1.5
1.5
100
8
1.5
5
20
1000
500
12
500
350
20
20
1500
750
1200
4000
525
100
400
BV
RARE
BV
BV
RARE
RARE
RARE
Boat fuel (Vedette)
Boat fuel (Vedette)
Boat driver monthly salary
Compressor fuel
Boat fuel (motorised pirogue)
Boat driver daily salary
Per diems for Velondriake scholars x 3
1.5
1.5
100
8
1.5
5
20
1000
500
12
500
350
20
20
1500
750
1200
4000
525
100
400
BV
RARE
BV
BV
RARE
RARE
RARE
RARE
TOTAL
2085
8785
1775
8475
1775
8475
5635
25735
Total amount requested from Rare: US$ 5,635
References
1.5
1.5
100
8
20
0.5
30
1.5
5
20
no
Total
Provided
units
cost
by
1000
1500 BV
500
750 RARE
12
1200 BV
500
4000 BV
10
200 RARE
100
50 RARE
2
60 RARE
350
525 RARE
20
100 RARE
20
400 RARE
Boat fuel (Vedette)
Boat fuel (Vedette)
Boat driver monthly salary
Compressor fuel
Boat fuel (motorised pirogue)
Boat driver daily salary
Per diems for Velondriake scholars x 3
Summary table:
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
TOTAL
Cost per
unit
English, S., Wilkinson, C. & Baker, V. (1997) Survey manual for tropical marine resources. Australian
Institute of Marine Science.