Fishing, tourism & conservation

The expansion of the tourism sector and associated infrastructure creates challenges for small-scale fisheries, which are already in decline due decreasing stocks. Pescatourism, as a multi-use combination of fishing and tourism, may help address some of the ongoing conflicts. Specifically, tourism provides income diversification opportunities for fishers by engaging tourists in light fishing and other traditional fishing techniques including:

• Boat excursions, watching and participating in fishing activities;
• Learning about fishing methods, observation of professional fishing techniques;
• On board meal preparation; and
• Interpretation of the coastal and marine environment and its biodiversity

With regards to conservation, integrating pescatourism with marine protected area initiatives may provide resolution to conflicts and questions regarding provision and exploitation of ecosystem services that small-scale fishers rely upon.

Scenario development will draw from information collected during the Strategical Environmental Assessment (SEA) (2011 - 2013) for the coastal zone of Mozambique. This exercise resulted in the identification of development scenarios and a compatibility matrix on maritime uses, as well as a robust database compiling usages data for all coastal districts and martime area (up to 12nm). Following an analysis of this information pertaining to small-scale fishing, tourism & conservation, an optimized pescatourism scenario for several areas will be developed. These inlcude primarely Bazaruto and Palma, but also Moma or Pebane district ( where heavy sands dune mining and industrial artisanal fisheries are present).

Re-purposing/re-use of decommissioned oil & gas installations

Since 2000, Mozambique is experiencing an oil & gas boom regarding seismic prospecting and gas exploitation in the offshore areas of Rovuma, Zambezi, Angoche and Inhambane. As oil & gas infrastructure ages, new solutions are sought to mitigate high costs associated with the decommissioning process, including re-purposing & re-use potential. Experiences from other offshore oil & gas exploitation areas shows that platform decks, jackets and pipelines can potentially be re-used according to their original design, or the structures and wells can be repurposed for alternative uses. Such new uses can span from artificial reefs (‘rigs to reefs’) to supporting LNG docking stations, aquaculture installations or renewable energy devices.

To inform increasing activity on oil & gas installations, many of which are entering the design stage, this scenario will ultimately provide recommendations on how to consider the full life cycle of a platform with regards to re-use / re-purposing solutions. Links will be established with the project MAGTAP (Mining and Gas Technical Assistance Project 2013-2021) which aims to strengthen the capacity and governance systems of key institutions to manage the mining and hydrocarbon sectors in Mozambique. The recommendations generated in the scenario are expected to feed into the work of relevant government agencies who are engaged with the oil & gas sector.