How the Octopus Close Season Affected Women’s Life in Rodrigues Essay

Rodrigues is a 108 square kilometre, volcanic originated island, located in the Indian Ocean at just about 600 kilometres at the east of the mainland Mauritius. It is surrounded by coral reef forming a laguna with a rich biodiversity, which as in two ways the coat of the land It was formerly know as the tenth district of Mauritius, up to the 10th of December 2002, where it attained the posture of autonomy, governed by the Rodrigues Regional aggregation. The economy is chiefly based on traditional fishing, low-scale farming, art and an emerging tourism sector.One of the approximately common means of traditional fishing, is the famed manta ray engender, which is mainly done by the Rodriguan women, known here as the piqueuse dourite. This is done at low soar up where the fisherman equipped with iron rods, gradation up and down the coral barrier, in search of a hole where nests the mollusc. The young government elected in February this year, show the wish to consolidate s ustainable developments and foster local resources, for food security and shield of the surround.In this connection a formula was adopted by the Rodrigues Regional Assembly in July 2012 for the closure of octopus catch season as from August 2012 to October 2012. This architectural plan is a joint collaboration financed by Smartfish and the Rodrigues Regional assembly. Smartfish is a regional course of study financed by the European Union and is executeed by the Indian Ocean guardianship in collaboration with the Common commercialise for Eastern and southern Africa (COMESA) , the east African community (EAC) and the Intergovernmental Authority on discipline ( IGAB).The Octopus fishers were called for a half twenty-four hours work in the interest of the environment against remuneration in read for them to write out with the loss of earnings. The fisherwoman at the beginning of the aim set in motion a lot of difficulties to adjust with it. They used to sell their octopus on twenty-four hour periods where they go fishing and thus handling money in elegant quantities, spread over several days. In the program they were paid after a week of work. They found much retire to wait for the pay and had to conform themselves to a vernal form of budgeting and a new form of saving in direct to meet expenses for the coming days beforehand next payment.For example Mrs Cupidon of Baladirou, a original fisherwoman, who use to earn around Rs three hundred each epoch she goes fishing, uses go to the close shop everyday where she buys food for the day and keeps around Rs 25 rupees to pay the electrical energy bill at the end of the month. forthwith existence paid after a week forced her to seek for credit and pay after one week, it has been terrible for her to persuade the shop owner to commit her much(prenominal) service. Locating an octopus in the sea is reserved to expert eye and intuition.Since young age umpteen an(prenominal) piqueuse dourite have been initiated to the skill of locating the octopuss next, to tackle it in order to force it out of its hiding smirch and to kill it in such a way as to avoid being hurt by the mollusc. When, they are called to sustain a new profession such as to build stone retaining walls, many of them were in trouble and could not adapt themselves. Moreover it was the first time in their lives where they were placed below the supervision of a superior, where they had to be punctual and abide to the principles anticipate from a public worker. Many supervisors as well xpressed the obstacles they had to overcome to make them respected and to inflict laid principles.At a time during the programme cycle, there was a custody for payment, which had consequent and dramatic impulses on the lives of these fisherwomen. organism not used to keep savings, many of them found themselves without food. Formerly a branch of their catch was kept for own consumption, exclusively with this program they c onsumed only food bought from the shop. there were also absentees at school cod to the fact that many women were penny little and could not provide for basic mundane needs of their children.In this project, the one who benefitted the or so were the fisherwoman themselves who after the opening of the season found their catch being multiplied, where the volume and size of octopus was highly satisfactory, to the point that real they are keen for the government to duplicate the project this year. The venture of this government to implement this program is to be greatly saluted as it goes in the direction of sustainable development. so far some measures have to be tuned and re-adapted to become the peculiarity of the way of living of the fisherwomen and decisions should be taken with their full collaboration.