Through collaborative efforts with Wildlife Con- servation Society and resources users, the Minis- try of Fisheries adopted in September 2013 the first seascape scale traditional, artisanal and in- dustrial fisheries co-management plan in Mada- gascar. This 5- year plan for Antongil Bay fisher- ies, established through a bottom-up approach (108 meetings, 6 workshops, 1466 participants), covers 3,746 square kilometers of marine habi- tats and officially confers fisheries management authority to local communities.
This plan acknowledges the role of Antongil Bay Locally Managed Marine Areas for resources recovery and addresses the challenge of overcapacity by fixing maximum levels for traditional, artisanal and industrial fishing efforts in Antongil Bay. This plan also prohibits shark fishing in the bay (at least 19 species are known to be harvested in this fishery, a third of which are threatened with extinction according to The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species).