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(northern and western stocks) and
S. maderensis
(northern
and western stocks). The
Ethmalosa fimbriata
(southern
stock) is underexploited while
Trachurus trecae
(southern
stock) is fully exploited.
The expert workshop regarded the risk to be significant in a
5 and 50 years perspective both because of illegal fishing and
overfishing. The risk of a collapse of the fish stock in the next
50 years was even regarded as high if overfishing continues.
9.4. Mangroves
A wide range of commercial and non-commercial fish and
shellfish also depends on these coastal mangrove forests.
The role of mangroves in the marine food chain is crucial.
The average yield of fish and shellfish in mangrove areas is
about 90 kg per hectare, with maximum yield of up to 225
kg per hectare (FAO 1994).
Recent monitoring of mangroves of Sierra Leone suggests
they will continue to decline unless actions to reverse the
degradation are implemented and enforced. Deforestation
activities are on the increase due to urban expansion,
coastal agriculture (mainly rice production), poles for
construction, salt production and fish drying. With
increasing population and drift to coastal areas, mangrove
degradation is likely to persist for the foreseeable future.
However, a regional mangrove charter has been adopted
by Sierra Leone which if implemented together with
other conservation measures, will significantly reverse
the trend.
9.5. Coastal development
The pace of coastal development is dictated by economic
growth in the country. Of importance is recent
development of export processing zones and ancillary
Figure 9.1:
Risk assessment results (5 and 50 year timeframe)