Beyond the Catch: Gendered Experiences of Octopus Fishery Closures in Zanzibar

April 24, 2026 Articles
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Based on: 

  • Drury O’Neill, Elizabeth, Tim Daw, Lorna Slade, Fatma Khamis, Salim Nassor Mbarouk, Jineth Berrío-Martínez, Andrew Wamukota, Rosemarie N. Mwaipopo, and Emilie Lindkvist. “Multidimensional Human Wellbeing in Periodic Octopus Closures in Zanzibar.” Ecosystems and People 20, no. 1 (December 31, 2024): 2412616. https://doi.org/10.1080/26395916.2024.2412616.
  • Drury O’Neill, Elizabeth, Tim M. Daw, Mwambao, Rosemarie N. Mwaipopo, and Emilie Lindkvist. “The Complexity of Compliance—Diverse Responses to Octopus Fishery Closures in Zanzibar.” People and Nature n/a, no. n/a. Accessed November 4, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10742.

Introduction

Our research draws on periodic octopus closures, a rapidly spreading collaborative (co-) management marine conservation initiative in the Western Indian Ocean and beyond (1–4). They involve closing local coral reef-based fishing grounds (often 20% of the area) to octopus or all types of fishing for 3 months or more (ibid). Octopus closures represent a participatory management approach which is increasingly emphasized globally, especially in tropical small-scale fisheries, as a means to meet global conservation and sustainable development goals (5,6). The purpose of these closures goes beyond benefits associated with increased octopus (or other species) biomass. These closures are seen as a tool to engage local resource users in conservation and to empower communities to better organize themselves within this sphere (e.g. creation of committees, developing local bylaws, engaging with environmental education).

While research on octopus closures often focuses on the ecological and economic impacts of these closures, our two recently published papers explore closure affects via (non-)compliance and multidimensional ideas of wellbeing from a qualitative interpretive perspective (7,8).

Background to the case

We worked in Zanzibar, a semi-autonomous archipelago off the coast of Tanzania with a history of traditional octopus (and fishing-ground closures more generally) and, like much of the Western Indian Ocean, where women have been the historical octopus hunters (9–12). Today octopus is both consumed locally and internationally exported, Zanzibari production has doubled since the 90s (13,14). Both women and men target octopus, usually during low tides, using low-tech tools such as wooden or metal sticks, hooks and spears. Women typically footfish or ‘glean’ while men can also snorkel/free dive along the reef edges (13–15). This reflects the broader WIO region, where in many places women access octopus only in the intertidal zone due to socially constructed rules, perceptions, and duties embedded in the various local cultures (16,17). They often don’t learn to swim or have access to fishing boats because of these gender expectations, thus larger octopus in deeper closed waters remain inaccessible on opening (1,2,14,18). Similar gendered roles flow downstream in the octopus value chain with differentiation of trading and processing roles between different types of actors i.e. locally based small-scale traderwomen (whom typically dry and fry for customers), larger-scale more capital rich tradermen (whom are typically mobile and linked to higher value markets e.g. tourism, export), smaller-scale tradermen (whom are often locally based but collect for the larger-scale male buyers) (19–21).

Theory & Methods

Our study of (non-)compliance (a topic chosen due to its importance across sites to research participants) draws on theory from sociology, anthropology and cognitive sciences and the subsequent theoretical framework was used to interpret how participants justified, were motivated by or dispositioned towards rules, rule makers and rule breakers (22,23). In our work on human wellbeing, a more holistic way to understand protected area impacts, we take a three-dimensional (material, relational and subjective) social wellbeing approach (24–26) to trace the flow of benefits, costs and burdens from closures at three sites in Zanzibar and explore how different types of fishers and traders perceive impacts. Using an intersectional lens allowed us to not simply focus on “women” but explore people’s intersecting relational structures (e.g. gender, value chain roles, livelihood strategies) which shape participants’ abilities to benefit from the closure and thus their wellbeing (27). Our data collection methods included storytelling circles, photo-elicitation tasks and focused discussions which prioritized participants’ emic descriptions and understandings of closures. In both papers we iteratively qualitatively coded data in MaxQDA.

Some Findings

A multidimensional wellbeing summary: Materially, all groups (fisherwomen, footfishermen, tradermen, traderwomen, skindivers) at all sites recognised benefits in terms of harvests at the openings of the fishery closure. By social group, fisherwomen cited the greatest material benefits, more easily meeting their basic needs. Tradermen experienced various market issues at material costs to them (e.g. low prices, illegal buying at opening). Material wellbeing costs to traderwomen were also linked to these market issues while for skindivers, the main octopus fishers, lost access to their fishing grounds. Relationally, all groups presented losses to a certain extent due to the conflicts, largely over non-compliance and largely by men, particularly at openings. Fisherwomen were particularly affected, as poaching reduced their fishing opportunities and strained relationships with those stealing from the closed areas. Gender relations were further impacted as the access and capture of benefits/resources associated with octopus landings were continuously appropriated by men e.g. skindivers going out to deeper reefs on opening days before appropriated time. Participants highlighted that there was no consideration/little consideration for other groups of people (elderly, children, women) and their differing access and capabilities in octopus fishing at opening events. Gender relations saw only little improvement with the recognition of increased representation of women in meetings and new opportunities to become guards. Subjectively, the female groups were the most satisfied with the resulting benefits that flowed their way e.g. incomes, nutrition-access, basic needs, benefits for children, community benefits, despite various costs to other wellbeing dimensions. Tradermen’s satisfaction was most evident around octopus sizes and abundances, important for them and their export market links. Conversely, skindivers and footfishermen were dissatisfied/upset by poaching and the fact that others (e.g. migrants, neighbours, guests) benefited from their closure.

Inequity in the process: Questions of equity were extensively used to frame wellbeing impacts of the closure, at multiple levels and between multiple groups or types of people (See Inequity figure). Gender relations within the closure system often reinforced /deepened inequities between groups, for instance, younger men’s ability to access deeper waters during openings gave them an advantage in catching larger octopus. While the closures facilitated greater community involvement in decision-making, gender disparities persisted in participatory processes. Despite women’s higher attendance at meetings, their contributions were often limited due to relative-levels of education, societal attitudes that viewed them as passive attendees rather than active participants, and culturally ingrained norms that discouraged them from speaking out- the Shehia Fishing Committees, the primary local institutions responsible for implementing the closures, remained largely male-dominated. At opening events inequities most starkly emerged, between differently-abled fishing groups, between those locally-based vs visitors/outsiders, between larger-scale male traders and female traders (with limited access to markets, products and resources such as transport, credit or storage). It was during these opening times that wellbeing impacts were most felt by participants- from intense social conflict over broken rules to major boosts in catches (seen across periodic closures in Caledonia, Hawaii, Solomon Islands, Philippines, (28)), nutrition and deep celebratory happy interactions.

The gendered nature of responses to authorities, rules & (non-)compliance: Gender as a category, amongst many other axes of difference, was articulated by participants through their struggles with non-compliance and ability to benefit from the closure, for example ‘Men’ were blamed for non-compliance, evading meetings and the male poachers (the skindivers) in particular manifesting their ‘god given right’ to fish. In the Zanzibari context skindivers have a lower social status to fishermen with vessels (29) while at the same time, legislation at multiple scales (local up to national) marginalizes them by outlawing their main method (spear fishing) (30). Closure regulations target their main species (octopus) (31) while directly enabling others not previously engaged with octopus to benefit through the creation of opening events. Upon consideration, skindivers’ poaching could be seen as a token of resistance against unjust regulations or lost claims (32,33). The attention given to the Zanzibari skindivers by other participant groups as well as gender as a category more generally, in a non-compliance frame of reference, highlights the need to properly and meaningfully engage with ‘lower-status’ or unrecognized groups like Skindivers’, or footfisherwomen (20,34–36). Not doing so can mean unknowingly provoking non-compliance while increasing the burden on others’ shoulders, for example, for fisherwomen to provide School uniforms or fees through a diminishing fishing income as a result of overexploitation.

For a more in-depth discussion on gender relations within these topics see the two papers (7,8).

Key recommendations for enhancing the equity and effectiveness of octopus fishery closures

  • Adopt context relevant conflict resolution strategies i.e. multistep formal and informal processes for resolving disputes, which recognise the nuances of conflict.
  • Opening days should be managed extra carefully and accommodate different levels of specialization and/or types of engagement in the octopus fishery with specific exclusion or entry rules such as women-first or women-and-children-only areas, diver-designated reefs, visitor-only areas or times.
  • Make time/space for open-ended qualitative discussions enacting active listening with smaller groups of people living at conservation sites (i.e. not just fishery organizations or leaders or larger “community” meetings) to gauge their feelings/interests/reactions to the process over time.
  • Take the time to engage these smaller groups/different types of people living at conservation sites in environmental education and awareness raising of the benefits but also disadvantages of conservation.
  • Manage with care and deliberation how people feel about the state/those who represent the state and thus how and where state actors engage with the conservation intervention.
  • Make sure to publish or spread information on the different closure activities like apprehensions, fines, meetings for the creation of bylaws or rules in a fair and visible way e.g. bulletin boards, for more trust in implementers and increased agency for participants.
  • Commit to connecting disparate groups, whom normally would not interact, for facilitated discussions on the intervention, with deliberate inclusion of lower ranking/less prominent groups e.g. the male skin divers, as a means to building social trust.

More Info

  • For a video summary of the Compliance paper see here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feeFBjen5F8
  • For Stories written based on the research participant transcripts, see (37) and for information about a feedback trip where research was shared back to participants for validation in the form of a theatre play, and through workshops to practitioners and governmental actors see (38,39).
Picture

Story circles during data collection with octopus fisherwomen. Photo credit: E. Drury O’Neill

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