Browsing by Author "Faria, Silvana"
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- Applying ecohydrology to promote a nature-based solutionPublication . Teodosio, Maria; Faria, Silvana; Baptista, Vânia; Wolanski, EricThis chapter aims to develop an ecohydrological modelling approach to propose an environmental engineering solution based on historical nature-based information to alleviate the severe water degradation problem within Luanda Bay, Angola. This solution would improve local communities' ecosystem health and quality of life. The model suggests a simple and practical solution to solving the pollution problem by opening a cut from the bay's shallows to the sea. This will essentially reproduce an old bay opening to the sea, which was filled early in the last century. The residence time of water in the shallows of Luanda Bay would be reduced to about one week by excavating the channel over the land is straightforward. This should return the system to a more natural state and improve the water quality for recreational activities, increase the quality of marine food resources, reduce toxic algae blooms, and improve the quality of life of people in the area. Nevertheless, preventing pollutants from reaching Luanda Bay is the only long-term solution to restore a healthy environment in Luanda Bay
- Characterization of small-scale fishing activity in Luanda Bay (Angola)Publication . Faria, Silvana; Macuéria, Marisa; Mosley, Benjamin A.; Teodosio, Maria; Baptista, VâniaLuanda Bay, the second largest bay and one of the most important ecosystems of the Angolan coast, supports many human activities. This bay supports a range of marine biodiversity that serves as a means of livelihood and source of income for more than fifty small-scale artisanal fisheries and collectors of worms and bivalve molluscs. The present study is the first record of this fishing activity in Luanda Bay and the objective was to characterize the resource exploitation in this bay based on field data obtained by distributing self-reported and structured questionnaires to the two fishing communities (fishermen and shellfish harvesters) in Luanda Bay: Luanda Island and Luanda Commercial Harbour. The results revealed that the two fishing communities used different vessel types during fishing activity. In the Luanda Island fishing community, the fishermen used rowboats (“Chata”) and motorboats, and in the Commercial Port of Luanda fishing community, they used an adapted vessel made of Styrofoam boards. The main gears were line/hooks (34.1%), shovel (25.0%), seine (9,1%), gillnet (6.8%), trawl (4.5%) and traps (2.3%). According to the local fishing communities, Pomadasys jubelini, Mugil cephalus, Dentex spp., Senilia senilis, Mactra glauca, Donax spp., Perna perna, and Lucinella divaricata were the predominant species. In relation to the earnings by fishing day, the Luanda Island community had a higher income (average: 14.4 ± 8.3 euros; maximum: 39.0 euros) than Luanda Commercial Harbour community (average: 8.4 ± 5.1 euros; maximum: 24.2 euros). Thus, the quality of life of the fishing communities seems to be highly depending on this activity.
- New records of fish species from the coast of Luanda, AngolaPublication . Baptista, Vânia; Encarnação, João; Serrao, Ester; Wirtz, Peter; Barros, Lueji; Faria, Silvana; Teodosio, MAThe coastal waters of Angola support a rich and diverse fauna. However, the ichthyofauna of the region is poorly known; the only fish species studied in detail are those with commercial importance. The main objective of the present study is to report the presence of several fish species for the first time from the coast of Angola. The records were made during a survey in the coastal area of Luanda Island. Species were identified based on photographs taken during SCUBA diving surveys. In the present study, we report for the first time the occurrence of seven fish species in the Angolan region, belonging to six families: Pomacanthidae (Guinean angelfish Holacanthus africanus), Pomacentridae (African sergeant Abudefduf hoefleri), Labridae (Guinean rainbow wrasse Coris atlantica and Newton's wrasse Thalassoma newtoni), Scaridae (Guinean parrotfish Scarus hoefleri), Blenniidae (oyster blenny Hypleurochilus aequipinnis), and Tetraodontidae (sharpnose-puffer Canthigaster capistrata). These records from Luanda Island are the southernmost known for the species reported here.