Sierra Leone State of the Marine Environment Report 2015.

This State of Marine Environment Report contributes to the development and implementation of improved management strategies, in order to achieve environmental sustainability in the country, responding to the identified threats facing the coastal and marine environment, particularly global climate change, flood from rivers, saline intrusions, degradation of the environment, overexploitation of marine resources, presence of invasive species, coastal erosion, pollution. With this Report, the government of Sierra Leone presents therefore a strategy contributing to the achievement of blue growth, rebuilding fish stocks, conserving biodiversity, developing ports and harbours and maximising the long-term benefits of the goods and services provided by the ecosystem. The Report covers the following matters: socio-cultural and political structure of the country; exploitation of natural resources extracted from the coastal area and impact on the economy; assessment of the condition of marine and coastal ecosystems: habitats, species and ecological processes; assessment of pests, introduced species, diseases and algal blooms; assessment of environmental pressures and socioeconomic benefits; risk assessment: consequence and impacts within the next 50 years; description of the oceanic habitat in the territorial water and in the internal and continental shelf waters; description of mangrove forests ecosystem.
Concerning the status of marine biodiversity, the Report focuses on: plankton and the correlation between its variability, fish abundance and the hydrological conditions of the habitat; categories of algae invading coastal waters; coastal fish species, pelagic fish community; marine fisheries, including inshore and offshore pelagic fisheries, inshore and offshore demersal fisheries, crustaceans and molluscs; species of coastal seabirds, turtles and crocodiles. The Report provides for a general assessment of the habitat and targeted assessment of the species, including: dolphins, sharks and rays, tuna species, other marine fishes and invertebrate species. The Report also concerns the analysis of physical, chemical and ecological processes and their impact on the health of marine ecosystem, including: sea water temperature, salinity of the sea surface waters, ocean currents, seasonal upwelling and productivity, tides and tidal stream, waves and swells, harbour infrastructures and how they interfere with the marine environment, level of agricultural waste, pesticides and fertilisers. Concerning pressures, the Report describes several factors affecting the environment and their socio-economic impacts and related risks, including: artisanal fisheries, offshore hydrocarbon and mining industries, solid waste disposal and marine debris, oil pollution.