Shark Week 2023

Safeguarding Livelihoods and Shark and Ray Populations in Mozambique

By Naseeba Sidat | July 26, 2023

Sharks and rays are important sources of protein and are economically profitable, contributing to the livelihoods of many coastal communities. They also contribute to the health of the oceans by maintaining balance in the food chain and controlling the populations of their prey species. However, there is a global concern about the susceptibility of elasmobranchs to overfishing, and their continually declining populations.

Since 2018, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has been working in partnership with the National Oceanographic Institute (InOM) of Mozambique to advance shark and ray conservation in Mozambique.

I have been implementing a capstone project in partnership with WCS and InOM on a community-level project in central Mozambique as part of my Master’s work in the Coastal Science and Policy Program at UC Santa Cruz (UCSC), titled “Supporting Coastal Communities in Safeguarding their Livelihoods and Conserving Shark and Ray Populations in Zalala Beach.”

Through my project, I hope to help fishing communities increase their awareness of the ecological and social importance of shark and ray populations, their poor conservation status, and the impacts that overfishing of their populations can have on the livelihoods of community members. We also hope to jointly design potential solutions for sustainable fishing practices that safeguard the long-term well-being of the fishing communities and the shark and ray populations in Zalala Beach.

The project is jointly funded by the UK Government through the Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund, the Shark Conservation Fund (a project of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors), and the UC Santa Cruz Coastal Science and Policy Program.

Naseeba Sidat is a Project Assistant in the Mozambique Marine Program at WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society).