Sophie Louise Penelope Benbow- MSc Conservation
- Marine Director at Fauna and Flora International
Sophie Louise Penelope Benbow
- MSc Conservation
- Marine Director at Fauna and Flora International
About
19
Publications
10,953
Reads
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412
Citations
Introduction
I currently Fauna & Flora's marine programme, providing strategic oversight of our global marine portfolio across 18 countries. Previously I managed marine projects in Turkey, Sao Tome & Principe and Cabo Verde for FFI, and prior to that I was based in Madagascar with Blue Ventures Conservation where I was lead researcher on the regional project to enhance octopus fisheries management.
Current institution
Additional affiliations
February 2019 - present
Position
- Head of Department
Description
- I have technical oversight of FFI’s global marine portfolio, providing technical input on marine projects in all regions, and supporting knowledge exchange and communication between FFI’s marine projects.
April 2014 - February 2019
Position
- Manager
Description
- Management of marine conservation and sustainable fisheries projects in Turkey, Cape Verde and Sao Tome and Principe.
July 2013 - April 2014
Position
- Programme Manager (Marine), Asia Pacific
Description
- Management of ongoing marine conservation and fisheries projects in Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Myanmar, and the Philippines.
Education
September 2005 - September 2006
September 2002 - June 2005
Publications
Publications (19)
Numerous policy and international frameworks consider that “destructive fishing” hampers efforts to reach sustainability goals. Though ubiquitous, “destructive fishing” is undefined and therefore currently immeasurable. Here we propose a definition developed through expert consultation: “Destructive fishing is any fishing practice that causes irrec...
The term 'destructive fishing' appears in multiple international policy instruments intended to improve outcomes for marine biodiversity, coastal communities and sustainable fisheries. However, the meaning of 'destructive fishing' is often vague, limiting effectiveness in policy. Therefore, in this study, we systematically reviewed the use of 'dest...
Tackling the global problem of 'destructive fishing' is central to the achievement of UN Sustainable Development Goal 14 'Life Below Water', yet the term remains vague, making it difficult to track and quantify progress. Here we evaluate the frequency and range of uses of the term 'destructive fishing' across the peer reviewed literature and media....
Protected areas are key to biodiversity conservation and ranger-based monitoring, and law enforcement is the cornerstone upon which effective protected areas are built. Frontline practitioners, however, are often asked to protect large swathes of land or sea with limited resources, support, infrastructure, capacity, and/or training. Technology, whe...
Cyclones are large-scale disturbances with highly destructive potential in coastal ecosystems. On February 22, 2013, a powerful tropical cyclone made landfall on the southwest coast of Madagascar, a region which is infrequently hit by such extreme weather events coming from the Mozambique Channel. Seagrass ecosystems, which provide valuable ecosyst...
Eight years of octopus fishery records from southwest Madagascar reveal significant positive impacts from 36 periodic closures on: (a) fishery catches and (b) village fishery income, such that (c) economic benefits from increased landings outweigh costs of foregone catch. Closures covered ~20% of a village's fished area and lasted 2-7 months.
Octop...
Eight years of octopus fishery records from southwest Madagascar reveal significant positive impacts from 36 periodic closures on: (a) fishery catches and (b) village fishery income, such that (c) economic benefits from increased landings outweigh costs of foregone catch. Closures covered ~20% of a village’s fished area and lasted 2-7 months. Fishe...
Eight years of octopus fishery records from southwest Madagascar reveal significant positive impacts from 36 periodic closures on: (a) fishery catches and (b) village fishery income, such that (c) economic benefits from increased landings outweigh costs of foregone catch. Closures covered ~20% of a village’s fished area and lasted 2-7 months. Fishe...
The government of Cambodia is in the process of designating the country’s first large-scale Marine Protected Area (MPA) in the Koh Rong Archipelago. We review the role of businesses in the MPA design process, as private sector partnerships are increasingly promoted as important for effective marine conservation, sustainable fishing and nature-based...
This paper presents evidence of the fisheries effect of experimental temporary fishing closures for Octopus cyanea in the then-emergent Velondriake Locally Managed Marine Area (LMMA) in south-west Madagascar during 2004–2006. We present an analysis of the O. cyanea catch data for the first two years of temporary closures based on landings data coll...
Ensuring that benefits from natural resource management initiatives are shared equally amongst both men and women is crucial to achieving long-term conservation and development objectives. In south west Madagascar, community-managed temporary closures of octopus (Octopus cyanea) fisheries have become a popular approach in management of the resource...
Seagrass habitats around Cambodia's off shore islands have been litt le studied and are under threat from various anthropogenic factors, especially those related to destructive fi shing techniques. Field surveys were conducted in 2013 and 2014 during the dry season around both islands within Cambodia's fi rst proposed Marine Fisheries Management Ar...
Zoning of marine protected areas is necessary to spatially designate areas for specifi c purposes and to resolve confl icts between diff erent activities. A range of methods are available to support decision-making processes during the design of marine protected areas, including scoring and multi-objective analysis using spatial conser-vation prior...
Seagrass meadows provide important nursery and feeding grounds for many commercially valuable fish species. Here, we address the paucity of published information on the status of seagrasses in Madagascar by documenting the results from ecological surveys of 11 seagrass beds in Velondriake, a locally managed marine area (LMMA) in south-west Madagasc...
The Octopus cyanea fishery is the most economically important fishery in southwest Madagascar. Growing
concerns over the sustainability of exploitation have promoted a number of conservation efforts to
improve management of the fishery. We analyse one year of catch data to identify seasonal variations
in sexual maturity and key reproductive periods...
International programs for combating food insecurity including the recent FAO “How to Feed the World in 2050: Highlevel Expert Forum” promote agricultural intensification among the main solutions to global hunger. We argue here that hunting and gathering on land and at sea will often result in less food insecurity than farming. In southwestern Mada...
Questions
Questions (4)
We have recently started a new project on the island of Principe in the Gulf of Guinea and are interested to make contact with any researchers with existing knowledge of the floral species of the island. We are hoping to conduct a full tree inventory this year in the first instance and are looking for a local/regional consultant/expert to assist with this.
Is anybody aware of a fishery for Strombus latus anywhere other then Cape Verde? I am interested in looking into management techniques for this fishery, but there seems to be very little available information on the biology and/or life cycle of this species. Any thoughts or ideas would be greatly appreciated
I am working with an artisanal octopus fishery in Madagascar, and the fishers have recently begun to pay a small percent of the income they receive from their catches into a central management pot to fund the organisation of ongoing fishery management, in this case temporary fishing site closures. I am looking for other examples of this from any country or fishery, where fishers themselves are investing in the management of the resource on which they depend.
I am working on the Octopus cyanea fishery in southwest Madagascar, and we are having problems obtaining accurate total production weight at a small scale from the commercial collectors. Would it be ok to run a stock assessment model using regional level total production data supplied by the Ministry of Fisheries, combined with village level CPUE as the effort measure? Any advice would be much appreciated.
