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The Mozambique Channel region in East Africa has diverse marine ecosystems and serves as a migratory corridor for economically important species. Local and foreign industrial fisheries operate in the Mozambique Channel, but regional small-scale fisheries are the crucially important fisheries that provide food security, livelihoods, and economic opportunities for rural coastal communities. This study reconstructed and investigated trends in the fishing effort and catch per unit effort (CPUE) of small-scale marine fisheries in four Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) that constitute the Mozambique Channel, i.e., Union of Comoros, Madagascar, Mayotte, and Mozambique, from 1950 to 2016. Effective fishing effort for small-scale fisheries in the form of fishing capacity in kWdays (i.e., kilowatt days) was derived using the number, length, motorization (engine power) by fishing vessels, as well as an approximate human-powered equivalent for shore-based fishers without vessels, as well as days of fishing per year. Effective small-scale fishing effort in the Mozambique Channel increased by nearly 60 times from just over 386,000 kWdays in 1950 to over 23 million kWdays in 2016. Correspondingly, the overall small-scale CPUE, based on previously and independently reconstructed catch data declined by 91% in the region as a whole, from just under 175 kg⋅kWday-1 in the early 1950s to just over 15 kg⋅kWday-1 in recent years. All four EEZs showed the strongest declines in the small-scale CPUE in the earlier decades, driven by motorization and growth in vessel numbers impacting effective fishing effort. Increased motorization combined with a substantial growth in overall vessel numbers were the drivers of the increasing fishing effort and decreasing CPUE, and clearly suggest that continuing to increase the fishing capacity of small-scale fisheries in the absence of effective and restrictive management actions may exacerbate overexploitation risk.

A few weeks after IDAI which wreaked havoc on central Mozambique (and eastern Zimbabwe), the country is dealing with another unprecedented event. Tropical Cyclone Kenneth made landfall in northern Mozambique on 25 April, near the border with Tanzania, in an area where no tropical cyclone has been observed since the satellite era. There is no record of two storms of such intensity striking Mozambique in the same season. It has now weakened into a depression.

Mozambique loses millions of dollars from illegal fishing.

Mozambique loses millions of dollars from illegal fishing.

Piracy could spread to Mozambique.

India, Mozambique to Boost Maritime Ties.

India, Mozambique to Boost Maritime Ties.

A third shark attack happened in the Bay of Inhambane in southern Mozambique for the past two months, resulting in a fisherman losing both arms, local news agency reported on Monday.

A third shark attack happened in the Bay of Inhambane in southern Mozambique for the past two months, resulting in a fisherman losing both arms, local news agency reported on Monday.

Mozambique city battled climate change, then came a cyclone.

Cyclone Idai death toll in Mozambique 'could rise above 1,000'.

On cyclone-shattered island in Mozambique, shock and debris.

Protecting the Mantas of Mozambique.

A piece of aircraft wreckage found off Mozambique, believed to be from flight MH370, has added strength to the belief the plane was not under the control of a pilot when it crashed.

Mozambique sharks, manta rays population decline spurs conservation efforts.

Pescanova vessel attacked by pirates in Mozambique; five wounded.

Saudi invests $100m in Mozambique resort.

Mozambique : 60 Million Dollars a Year Lost to Illegal Fishing.

Introduction: Ocean fronts are moving ephemeral biological hotspots forming at the interface of cooler and warmer waters. In the open ocean, this is where marine organisms, ranging from plankton to mesopelagic fish up to megafauna, gather and where most fishing activities concentrate. Fronts are critical ecosystems so that understanding their spatio-temporal variability is essential not only for conservation goals but also to ensure sustainable fisheries. The Mozambique Channel (MC) is an ideal laboratory to study ocean front variability due to its energetic flow at sub-to-mesoscales, its high biodiversity and the currently debated conservation initiatives. Meanwhile, fronts detection relying solely on remotely-sensed Sea Surface Temperature (SST) cannot access aspects of the subsurface frontal activity that may be relevant for understanding ecosystem dynamics.

Endangered leatherback sea turtles are known for their open-ocean migratory nature and nomadic foraging habits - traveling thousands of miles. But a CORNELL naturalist and his colleagues have discovered an area along the Mozambique coast that the turtles have made their permanent home, according to a study published in Nature's Scientific Reports, Nov. 25.

Australian government says analysis on two pieces of debris indicates they are 'highly likely' to have come from missing craft, fuelling confidence further remains will be found soon.

Australian government says analysis on two pieces of debris indicates they are 'highly likely' to have come from missing craft, fuelling confidence further remains will be found soon.

A fisherman was helpless to do anything about the horrific scene of a shark attack unfolding 16 feet from him in the surf on a beach in Mozambique.

A fisherman was helpless to do anything about the horrific scene of a shark attack unfolding 16 feet from him in the surf on a beach in Mozambique.