Maputo National Park was proclaimed in 2021 after the merging of Maputo Special Reserve and Ponta do Ouro Partial Marine Reserve. One of Earth’s most biologically rich and endangered ecoregions, it is a jewel in the crown of Mozambique’s National Administration for Conservation Areas and Peace Parks Foundation who signed a 15-year agreement in 2018 to restore, develop and manage Maputo National Park.
The marine component of the national park stretches from the edge of the IsiMangaliso Wetland Park in South Africa, to the Maputo River Mouth in the Maputo Bay in the north, and includes the waters around KaNyaka and Portuguese islands. It stretches 18 nautical miles into the Indian Ocean and together with the iSimangaliso Marine Protected Area, makes up the Ponta do Ouro – Kosi Bay Transfrontier Conservation Area.

This incredible body of water has so many diverse ecosystems that now stand protected. Mangroves that surround the bay are nurseries for juvenile fish, as are the seagrass beds that surround KaNyaka. The mud flats are feeding grounds for shrimp, mud crabs and prawns, while the rocky shores and coral reefs in the open ocean are teeming with life. Research by the South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity has shown the inshore reefs that run across the marine transboundary waters are some of the healthiest on the eastern coast of Africa.

The Maputo Bay is a very important area for the fisheries sector of Mozambique, which is largely made up of artisanal fisheries involving small-scale fishermen using traditional methods such as hand lines, gillnets and traps from small boats to catch mangrove snapper, catfish, prawns, mussels, and a variety of finfish. Unregulated fishing practices, coupled with growing population and demand, have however led to the depletion of certain fish stocks.
Larger-scale, more semi-industrialised operations focus on prawns. The shrimp industry is particularly important, with key export destinations in Europe and Asia, and it is this sector that is under the most pressure from overfishing.

This is why it is so important that the government of Mozambique designated the Marine Protected Area of Maputo National Park, which aims to preserve biodiversity and promote sustainable fisheries and community usage. This is achieved by regulating fish catch limits, improving fishing gear, promoting responsible fishing techniques, and increasing awareness of the importance of marine conservation.
Mozambique’s National Administration for Conservation Areas takes the task of protecting the resources of this area very seriously through education, permits and monitoring, as a significant portion of the population around Maputo Bay depends on fishing for their livelihood. This includes both direct employment in fishing activities and indirect employment in related industries, such as seafood processing, transport, and marketing.
Community Fishing Councils in Machangulo, Santa Maria and Mabuluku and KaNyaka have been set up and training sessions are conducted focusing on Marine Fishery Regulations. No take sanctuary zones have been established in Machangulo and KaNyaka and closed fishing seasons for specific species are enforced.

As an alternate source of food and income, aquaculture of mussels is actively encouraged and the 2023 harvest of around 412 kg of the 700 kg available for harvest were sold for USD 3 230.
Bolstering these efforts, the Blue Action Fund through funding from the Green Climate Fund, awarded a six-year grant to Peace Parks in 2022 to effectively implement ecosystem-based adaptation along the marine components of the park with ADRA. ADRA Germany was announced as a sub-grantee with ADRA Mozambique, Associação do Meio Ambiente , Livaningo – Associação para a Preservação e Defesa do meio Ambiente, and Centro Terra Viva as implementation partners.
Two years in and the programme is already making an impact. With mangroves such a key ecosystem in the bay, a mangrove rehabilitation programme was implemented with Eden Reforestation, who employed communities to plant 780,740 propagules of three different types of mangrove over an area of 42.4 ha in 2023. A propagule is the elongated seed of the mangrove that are already germinated when they fall from the tree. Usually, they float on the current until they fetch up on the shore long enough to put down some roots. By harvesting and planting the propagules, the extension of the mangrove forest is ensured.

The University of Eduardo Mondlane has been commissioned to do research and advise on seagrass rehabilitation and marine infrastructure development on KaNyaka Island. Centro Terra Viva develop and submit annual assessments and reports on mangroves, seagrass, artisanal fishing, sea turtles, coral reefs and rocky shores, which include recommendations for the management of these ecosystems. Vulnerability and capacity assessments have been conducted in ten communities of Machangulo, to assess the impact of climate change on their lives as well as their coping strategies. In partnership with Biofund, an annual Marine Biodiversity Conference is also organised.
A recent United Nations study reported that more than two-thirds of the world’s fisheries have been overfished or are fully harvested and more than one third are in a state of decline because of factors such as the loss of essential fish habitats, pollution, and global warming.
World Fisheries Day helps in highlighting the critical importance of fisheries and the need for proper management of the worlds fish stocks. This world Fisheries Day, Peace Parks would like to extend our gratitude to the Government of Mozambique and our partners and donors for joining hands with us in this extraordinarily important work.