As boats from bigger islands flock to fish off Maio, locals take turns to safeguard their pristine waters.
Older fishermen such as Boaventura Martins, 60, have noticed the fish have not only become more scarce, but smaller. Some species have disappeared, he says.
In 2016 he was among the first to join the inaugural group of the Guardians of the Sea. Now there are 20 Guardians, artisanal fishermen monitoring illegal fishing activity along the coastline of Maio, one of the 10 islands that make up Cape Verde.
“Even if I don’t feel like fishing, I will still go out to do my work as a Guardian,” he says. “Because if we keep going at this rate, eventually we will run out of fish.”
Semi-industrial boats appear along Maio’s shores periodically and stay for weeks at a time. At first, the Guardians took pictures, but this often led to heated confrontations. Now, they record what they see with pen and paper. Sometimes, their presence alone acts as a deterrent.
The group was formed by a local organisation, the Maio Biodiversity Foundation. When a fisherman spots illegal activity, he records the details, which are added to a database and shared with the authorities. They also track wildlife sightings to help the foundation monitor populations of whales, dolphins and turtles.
Read more:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/sep/21/guardians-of-the-sea-cape-verde-fish-detectives-try-to-keep-extinction-at-bay