COASTAL SHELLFISH RESOURCE USE IN THE QUIRIMBA ARCHIPELAGO, MOZAMBIQUE

The level, types, and influences of use of intertidal and subtidal mol luscs and crustaceans were examined on four islands of the Quirimba Ar chipelago in northern Mozambique. Artisanal collecting was restricted to spring low tidal periods and involved at least 5% of the population of the study islands. Twenty-two mollusc species and five decapod cru stascean species (Palinuridae and Portunidae) were collected, of which the large gastropods Chicoreus ramosus (Muricidae) and Fasciola trape zium (fasciolaridae), were the most important on coral reef rubble sho re regions. The bivalves Pinctada nigra and Barbatia fusca were the mo st important species in seagrass (Halhodule sp, and Cymodocea sp.) are as. The diversity and identity of target species and proportions of sp ecies taken by intertidal collectors differed between study islands. T he mean length of the gastropods C. ramosus and F. trapezium collected on the larger islands of Quirimba and Quisiva have significantly decr eased on the basis of examinations of previously collected middens. Th ose collected at Quirimba and Quisiva Islands were also smaller than c urrent collections at the nearby smaller islands of Quilaluia and Senc ar.