to biodiversity and their causes, and identifying the threats of greatest priority. The results will be used to gauge ifhow the field-based activities might need to be revised in order to better address
these priority threats. The assessment also helped identify key players and projects in biodiversity conservation that are active in the study areas. The Tanzanian assessment, which was drafted in
the previous quarter, was vetted with field partners during this reporting period, as part of a mid- project evaluation of the impacts and progress towards addressing the priority threats.
8.2.2 Site-Specific
Ecuador In the Cojimies estuary of Ecuador, cockle gatherers complain that pesticides used by shrimp
farmers have resulted in die-offs and low abundance of cockles. Alternative hypotheses have been that El Nino is changing substrate conditions, andor that the decline is due to over-harvesting. To
rule out pesticides as the culprit and convince harvesters to take more responsibility for declining harvests, discussions are underway with scientists concerning applied research to answer this
question. The pesticide in question Lambda cyhalotrin could be a possible cause of mortality of adults in the substrate andor of larvae residing temporarily in the water column. Since this
pesticide is no longer used in the shrimp ponds of the Cojimies estuary we decided not to fund a research study as it was considered too costly and highly unlike to show any impact from the
substance. However, EcoCostas also initiated an estuary-wide water quality monitoring effort to establish a baseline. This work is being funded by the PMRC, representing leveraged resources of
30,500 for the Ecuador SUCCESS Program. A water quality probe was donated by an U.S. company and a scientist from ESPOL is leading the effort. The first field work to identify and
locate sampling stations took place in November.
Nicaragua In Nicaragua, the black cockle is a species with great economic and ecological value, but also one
that is threatened by fishing and habitat loss. Unfortunately, there is little scientific information for MARENA to use in formulating management regimes or for purposes of guaranteeing that
this widely consumed shellfish is safe for consumption. Currently CIDEA is working on two aspects of cockle management: 1 cockle fisheries management; 2 researching the
microbiological aspects of food safety for cockles; and 3 researching growth rates to determine optimal minimum harvest size. The latter involves working with commercial collection centers
where fishers sell their cockles and where these are consolidated for local and national sale. Data on the number and size of cockles is collected in coordination with other institutions and
stakeholders, thus helping to raise awareness about fisheries issues.
Tanzania In Tanzania, the use of Fiji-style no-take areas is being developed in the Menai Bay conservation
area as an approach to address declining harvests of cockles. An Institute of Marine Science IMS graduate student is assisting with the community development process and is also
undertaking thesis research linked to bio-physical monitoring of cockle abundance both inside and outside the no-take areas designated. The student is using a before-after -control impact
BACI analysis to assess conservation performance of the no-take areas. This is participatory action research linked to the community-based monitoring. A second round of sampling was
conducted in late March and initial time series results will be assessed during the next quarter. Furthermore, a separate study that is not funded by SUCCESS is also assessing the environmental
quality of the bivalve culture sites.
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