June. 2000 
3 
EquatO' 
KKrajyo 
ETHIOPIA 
Mogadiih 
KENYA 
Figure 1 Map of Somalia showing study area in Western Indian Ocean 
reefs further offshore at depths of 8- 
14 m. All dives were of 30 minutes 
duration A single snorkel dive at 4-6 
m depth and lasting approximately one 
hour was made on a coral reef just 
north of Bosaso in the Gulf of Aden. 
During the course of a dive, one diver 
would swim transects, counting 
lobsters and the other diver would 
range freely capturing lobsters All fish 
observed during the course of a dive 
were noted on underwater slates and 
identified using Dcbelius (1993). 
Sommer ct af : '{ 1 996) and Richmoi 
(1997). At every fishing 
visited, fish discarded on the beach 
(mostly originating from the by-catch 
of lobster tangle nets) were identified, 
as were the elasmobranch species that 
were being salted and dried for later 
sale. At Eyl, a line fishery for reef fish 
has started recently and fish present at 
the cleaning tables were identified. 
Local fishing boats encountered at sea 
were also visited to identity fish species 
captured, and the diving team trolled 
