First, outside the context of the symposium, perhaps you’ve heard about the current security concerns here in Kenya. When we flew in on Saturday, we were greeted by the news that the U.S. State Department had issued a warning of “imminent” attacks in Kenya. After several high-profile kidnappings of foreigners by suspected members of the al Shabab terrorist group of Somalia, the Kenya government sent troops into southern Somalia last week to root out the group, which has been connected to the recent insecurity in the region, including the problem with piracy. Apparently, the State Department expected retaliatory attacks due to Kenya’s incursion, and warned against visiting public spaces frequented by foreigners. And sure enough there have already been two attacks in Nairobi involving grenades being detonated in public places.
The symposium is taking place at the well-known and certainly upscale Sarova Whitesands Hotel, north of Mombasa, so it’s hard not to feel somewhat like a target as part of this group of five-hundred plus scientists and marine managers, many of whom come from Europe, Australia, and the States. But the security is tight, not only here at the Whitesands but just about everywhere in Mombasa. You can’t enter a bank, restaurant, or supermarket without first passing through a security check-point. Even most stores seem to keep there doors locked at all times and you must be buzzed in after knocking at the door.
Sarova Whitesands Hotel, Mombasa
I’ll also note that it was only a month ago that I predicted that there would be an American military presence in Somalia within the next few years, and sure enough, reports are that U.S. drones have been striking al Shabab control centers in southern Somalia, as part of Kenya’s operation. Faster than I expected, but I expect it won’t be the last we hear of American involvement in the area.
Anyway, outside of the security concerns, the symposium has offered a glimpse into some of the more compelling research currently underway in the region. One of the more interesting presentations was by a well-known scientist, David Obura, on his research about a potential “coral triangle” at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel between northern Madagascar, northern Mozambique and southern Tanzania. As Mr. Obura is discovering the rich coral diversity in this region is likely a product of number of biogeographical conditions, including paleo-geology and paleo-oceanography.
In short, while the evolutionary history of coral species is very convoluted, this area was likely served as a refuge for coral diversity when the Tethys Sea started closing 150-100 million years ago, with the breakup of the Gondwana super-continent and Africa and India’s northward migration. Unlike the rest of the Indian Ocean, the seafloor of the Mozambique Channel is remarkably old, which may reflect an area of relative stability, allowing for the preservation of older coral taxa that were disappearing elsewhere with the closing of the Tethys Sea. And during the last several hundred thousand years, the channel’s steep sides may have diminished the coastal influences of glacial cycles, again, creating comparative stability compared to other coastal areas in the region.
But Mr. Obura suspects it’s even more complicated than this. The Mozambique Channel
is well known for its incredible currents, some of the fastest in the world, which recent oceanography has shown are partly the result of large eddies that form around the Comoros islands (between northern Madagascar and northern Mozambique) and move southward through the channel. These eddies can be as large as 300 km across, with a swirl velocity as fast as a meter a second. Mr. Obura suspects that these eddies are creating a return flow that allows for the accumulation of genetic and larval material.
Anyway, all this suggests that Mnazi Bay-Ruvuma Estuary Marine Park (MBREMP), where I am fortunate enough to be working, is at the center of a “hotspot” of marine biodiversity in the western Indian Ocean. Personally, I love this kind of research that brings it all together – geology, oceanography, genetics, ecology – and more importantly, makes it relevant to resource management – i.e., the need for management schemes to protect coral reefs in the region, like MBREMP. Mr. Obura’s work is ongoing, but it’ll be interesting to see how far he can take his theory about this “coral triangle.”
A glimpse of MBREMP's coral diversity.
Dynamite fishing in Tanzania
Reef damage in Mnazi Bay caused by dynamite fishing.But my impression of the problem differs somewhat from what some of the scientists in the region seem to think. I see the problem as fundamentally an issue of poverty and the lack of economic opportunities for Tanzania youth. But some observers see the availability of commercial grade dynamite and incidents like government boats being torched and fisheries officers being physically threatened (blinded by acid in one case) as a sign that the problem represents a form of organized crime and corruption that runs to the highest levels of government.
While I admit, if military detonators are showing up in local fishing villages and fishermen are being tipped off about covert enforcement efforts, some degree of corruption must exist. But when fishermen can make homemade explosives – by filling plastic water bottles with sand, petrol, and fertilizer – and when most of the people engaging in the practice are poor, uneducated youths who can’t afford other types of legal fishing gear, I can’t help but conclude that the overarching problem is economic, not political. Even with the commercial grade dynamite, it would be ignorant to think that a black market for this kind of thing doesn’t exist in a large port city like Dar es Salaam. And in terms of the “organization” behind the crime, when dealers are being arrested on public buses, with the explosives in a box under their seats (as was the case late last year on a bus from Dar to Mtwara), it’s hard to see the perpetrators as “professional” criminals. Anyway, that’s my two cents, for what it’s worth.
So that’s a sample of the discussion here at the WIOMSA symposium in Mombasa. I’ll be back in Mtwara on Monday, where Merritt reports that Moto and Tiger (Kali’s kittens) are now running around the house, constantly fighting each other, and getting into everything. It’s been a productive week here, but I am looking forward to heading back to the Deep South.
Tiger and Moto wiped-out after a long day of play.
