Mangily/Ifaty reef and village history

 

First let us explain the difference between Ifaty and Mangily. Ifaty is a traditional fishing village located 24kilometers North of Tulear. Where as Mangily is a tourist village boasting basic bungalows to high-end resorts. There is only one hotel to be found in Ifaty and it is mid-end to high-end range. Mangily, on the other hand was established in 1970 with the building of Hotel Mora Mora. Once tourism began to pick up, others started to build hotels and restaurants and Mangily was born. However often in the guidebooks, Ifaty is used to refer to both villages. Today, Mangily boasts 20 plus hotels/ guesthouses and restaurants. Come wine, dine, and enjoy the fresh seafood served daily.

Mangily and Ifaty are two of several villages found within the Bay of Ranobe. The bay stretches from Belalanda to Manombo Sud. The coral barrier protects the lagoon. In fact Madagascar claims the third longest barrier reef in the world, after Australia and Belize. Within the interior of the reef the maximum depth is 8-10 meters. On exterior of the barrier we dive at dive sites with maximum depths of 27 meters.

Conservation measures have been put into place by the fisherman’s association: FI.MI.HA.RA. It is FI.MI.HA.RA who established the network of local marine reserves: Andabotira, Massif des Roses, et Ankarandjelita. The latter two sites have recently had installed anti-fishing devices in the form of barbwire on the ocean floor. The goal is that if people illegally fish within the reserves perimeter than they will rip their nets. Projects such as this are possible due to the marine reserve fee of 5000Ariary per person. This also goes to general upkeep of the mooring buoys and the guardian’s salary.