Bazaruto Archipelago is one of the most important marine sanctuaries along the East African coastline, with a range of critical habitats for many rare and endemic species. In addition to being in an ecologically rich tropical zone, its varied marine habitats contribute to an outstanding wealth of species, including 500 marine and coastal mollusc species, 2,000 fish species and nine marine mammal species, including whales, dolphins and the dugong. Migratory species move through the park’s productive marine environment, such as whale sharks, great white sharks, manta rays and killer, southern right and humpback whales.
The archipelago’s reefs are a valuable resource as they are an isolated node of reef development between the limited reefs in southern Mozambique and South Africa and the more extensive coral reefs north of Beira.
Bazaruto Archipelago National Park was declared a protected area in 1971, when its exceptional ecological value was first recognised.
Species Restorations and Monitoring
Following collaborative research work coordinated by park management, the research team successfully applied to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to reassess the status of East Africa’s dugong (Dugong dugong), of which the last-known viable population exists in Bazaruto. As a result, the IUCN approved the relisting of the East Africa subspecies, from Vulnerable to Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red Data List. The reclassification is an important conservation milestone and affords the species the highest global protection status.
Regular aerial dugong surveys suggest a few hundred adults and calves exist in and around the protected area, indicating a healthy and thriving population. Hundreds of turtles, sharks, rays, dolphins and whales are also seen during these counts.
Bazaruto is the only known place in the western Indian Ocean where all five regionally resident turtle species (leatherback, loggerhead, green, olive ridley and hawksbill) nest. Turtle monitors and rangers receive regular training on turtle tagging, protocols for monitoring and techniques for relocating nests to stable areas. In 2024, a large turtle-tagging exercise was undertaken to understand how turtles navigate the ocean amidst fishing grounds, where being caught in fishing nets is one of the main types of human-wildlife conflict in the protected area, as the animals may drown and nets are destroyed. The animals tagged are adding to knowledge of the turtle populations; previous tagging exercises showed that all three species tagged remained resident within Bazaruto’s boundaries and surroundings.
Conservation Law Enforcement
The diverse habitats around the Bazaruto Archipelago are threatened by illegal and unsustainable fishing practices, unregulated natural resource use, and uncontrolled tourism activities. These not only reduce biodiversity, but lead to considerable loss in park revenue, further impoverishing local communities.
Bazaruto’s skilled ranger unit of Mozambican nationals is tasked with protecting their natural heritage while building strong relationships with the people who live in and around the protected area. Nearly 10,000 patrols are undertaken yearly, by some 70 rangers, including Mozambique’s first female seafaring rangers. The patrols take place on land and sea, jointly with local government, and have resulted in a steady decline in illegal activities in the park.
A recent concern was the finding of two dead dugongs outside the park’s boundaries in suspected poaching incidents. This trend is troubling as an increase in dugong mortality outside the protected area could be enough to tip the population into long-term decline. To expand the dugong protection area, a ranger outpost has been built at Nhamabue in the north west of the park, which will be manned by park rangers, local government police and the navy, who will patrol this area where the highest numbers of dugong have been sighted.
Assisted by effective conservation law enforcement, fishing is being monitored and, through improved boundary control and growing respect for marine park boundaries from positive community engagement, illegal fishing in the park has been significantly reduced.