Developing a Data Collection Protocol for IUU Fishing in French Guiana

The Amana National Nature Reserve, located in Awala-Yalimapo in northwestern French Guiana, protects highly valuable coastal ecosystems and is a major nesting site for marine turtles, especially leatherbacks and green turtles, but also olive ridleys and, more occasionally, hawksbills. Located near Suriname, this area has faced strong pressure for several decades from illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing carried out by foreign vessels commonly known as “tapouilles.” These activities mainly target acoupa weakfish, but also result in accidental captures of protected species, including marine turtles, while creating tensions with local fishers and complicating management of shared resources.

A recent project assessing the risk of interaction between IUU fishing and leatherback turtles in French Guiana identified several critical areas where the activity ranges of females during the inter-nesting period overlap with zones of intense illegal fishing pressure. Some of these areas are located immediately adjacent to the Amana National Nature Reserve. These findings highlight the need to strengthen monitoring of these activities and better characterize the pressures they exert on marine turtles and their habitats.

To track this issue, the Amana Reserve has for many years collected data through several complementary monitoring systems, including beach patrols, at-sea inspections, official reports, microlight surveys and drone observations. However, these data are currently heterogeneous, scattered and difficult to compare over time. Establishing a harmonized monitoring protocol based on these existing systems is therefore an essential step toward structuring the data, improving its use and supporting management decisions, particularly within national work on IUU fishing.

With this objective in mind, TOTM has recruited an intern dedicated to work carried out within the Amana National Nature Reserve. The internship focuses on harmonizing and analyzing existing data on the presence of illegal vessels, or “tapouilles,” collected through the various monitoring tools: beach patrols, aerial surveys, drones and official reports. The goal is to develop a standardized protocol for data collection and analysis in order to improve monitoring of IUU fishing and more precisely assess the pressure it exerts on marine turtles and coastal ecosystems.

In the longer term, this work will contribute to the development of a reproducible method at the scale of eastern French Guiana, helping strengthen monitoring of illegal fishing activities and support conservation action across the wider region.