Due to their high dependence on marine resources, their well-being is directly related to healthy coastal ecosystems and their sustainable exploitation ( Food and Agricultural Organisation 2016 Thomas et al. SIDS are reported to have the highest per capita consumption of indigenous fish ( Food and Agricultural Organisation 2016). In coastal developing countries, artisanal fisheries are vital for the socio-economic development of local communities and to ensure food security, by providing a large portion of the animal proteins consumed locally (Kolding et al. 2019) and play a major role on the livelihood of over 200 million people worldwide (McGoodwin 2001). Small-scale fisheries, which employ over 90% of the world’s capture fishers, supply more than half of the global annual fish catch (Berkes 2001 Oestreich et al. Within the Sustainable Development Goal 14 ( Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development), the United Nations Agenda for Sustainable Development specifically targets the access for small-scale artisanal fishers to marine resources, with a focus on Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and least developed countries (United Nations 2015). Graphical AbstractĮnsuring the sustainable and equitable use of oceans, seas and marine resources is a global challenge. The characterization of the groups of fishers and their fishing strategies will be useful to better evaluate adaptation strategies and support management measures to face global environmental change.
Such ecological knowledge highlights the exposure of fishers to stressors induced by environmental change. All groups of fishers observed environmental change over the same period. The majority of fishers reported lower fish abundances and fewer species now compared to 10 to 15 years ago. Six main groups of fishers were identified according to their fishing strategies, which reflected different target species in their reported catches. Artisanal fishers used multiple fishing areas and gears, with half of the fishers using Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs). A semi-structured survey method was used to interview 247 fishers from all around the country. Considering Mauritius (South Western Indian Ocean) as a case study, this paper characterizes artisanal fishers in SIDS and assesses their perception of global change using the Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK) approach. Artisanal fishers in SIDS currently face multiple stressors related to global environmental change. Small island developing states (SIDS) are highly dependent on coastal marine resources.
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