Menai Bay Conservation Area

Menai Bay Conservation Area
IUCN category VI (protected area with sustainable use of natural resources)
Dolphins in the Menai Bay in Indian Ocean off Unguja coast.
Location of Menai Bay Conservation Area.
Coordinates	6°23′0″S 39°22′00″E / 6.38333°S 39.36667°E / -6.38333; 39.36667
Area	470 km2 (180 sq mi)
Established	August 1997
Governing body	Fisheries Department

The Menai Bay Conservation Area (MBCA) is located in Menai Bay, Zanzibar Tanzania. At 470 square kilometres (180 sq mi), it is Zanzibar's largest marine protected area. It was officially established as a conservation area in August 1997 in the traditional fishing area, known as Unguja Island, covering the tropical marine environment comprising extensive coral reefs, tropical fish, sea grasses, and mangrove forests. In addition to controlling illegal fishing, MBCA's alternative initiatives have included bee keeping, mangrove replanting, tree nurseries and tourism.^[1][2] The management of the MBCA falls upon the Fisheries Department and the bay's local villages. It is rated by the IUCN as Category VI Managed Resource Protected Area.^[3]

The conservation project started operating one year after it was formally established. The project was initiated by WWF and has been fully supported with funds by USAID, the British Government and Switzerland. It is a participatory project with community of 19 villages in the project area actively involved in pursuing the conservation efforts, and to this end they have set up village level Conservation Committees to restrain illegal fishing using circular nets and blasting techniques. Of all the villages, the villagers of Kizimkazi on the eastern part of the project area have been successful in their conservation efforts largely because of good network of paved roads and financial support from WWF. These efforts have attracted 200 bottlenose and humpback dolphins to the shores of their village. The villagers who were earlier killing these animals for food are now deriving economic benefits working with their boats as guides to show the dolphins to visitors. About 20,000 tourists have visited the area in 1998.^[1]