A new special issue of WIOJMS has been published. Guest edited by Dr Sean Fennessy and Dr Bernadine Everett, Special Issue 1/2025 on Soft sediment, rich life: Demersal biodiversity in the WIO is derived from the research project WIO-BENTH, supported by a MASMA grant from WIOMSA. It uses data collected through scientific surveys conducted with the research vessel Dr. Fridtjof Nansen, as part of the collaboration between the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on behalf of the EAF-Nansen Programme and Mozambique, Madagascar, and South Africa. The EAF-Nansen Programme is a partnership between FAO, the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad), and the Institute of Marine Research (IMR) in Norway, aimed at the sustainable management of fisheries in partner countries and regions.
The special issue includes the following papers:
- Overview of the WIO-Benth Project – benthic habitats and megafauna from soft sediments in the Western Indian Ocean. Sean Fennessy, Bernadine Everett, Fiona MacKay, Silvia Abdula, Jean Jacaques Be, Andrew Green, Chris Jenkins, Esther Fondo, Cang Hui, Amon Kimeli, Mary Kishe, Alex Mafuru, Sashan Manikam, Rui Mutombene, Noah Ngisiange, Julius Okondo, Najoro Randrianalisoa, Michael Roberts, Mathew Silas, Ignacio Sobrino, Arved Staby, Pascal Thoya, Mariana Tomalin, Patrick Vianello, Vernon Visser
- Benthic biodiversity of soft-sediment habitats of the western Indian Ocean. Bernadine I Everett, Sean T Fennessy, Avotramalala N. Randrianalisoa, Sylvia Abdula, Ester Fondo, Mary Kishe, Matthew O Silas
- Demersal communities on Madagascar’s western shelf and slope Avotramalala N. Randrianalisoa, Bernadine I. Everett, Sean T. Fennessy, Jean J. Bé, Lantoasinoro Ranivoarivelo, Aina Le Don Nomenisoa
- Who lives where and why – a look at the benthic fauna of the demersal trawl grounds off KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Bernadine I Everett, Sean T Fennessy
- Patterns in the occurrence of elasmobranchs in demersal trawl catches in the Western Indian Ocean. Bernadine I Everett, Sean T Fennessy, Julius Okondo, Mary Kishe, Rui Mutombene, Jean Jacques Bé
- Spatial assessment of the sensitivity to disturbance of marine fauna from soft seabed habitats in the Western Indian Ocean. Sean T Fennessy, Bernadine I Everett
- Species richness and rarity of demersal fauna in and outside of marine protected areas of the Western Indian Ocean. Gabriella J Kietzka, Vernon Visser, Sean T Fennessy, Fiona Mackay, Bernadine I Everett, Cang Hui
Access the issue here