MASDEAMarine species database for Eastern Africa

Abstract

The Marine Species Database for Eastern Africa (MASDEA) was started in 1996, in the framework of a collaborative project between the Regional Cooperation in Scientific Information Exchange – Western Indian Ocean (RECOSCIX-WIO) and the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI). Since then, it has grown to a substantial database, with over 20,000 taxonomic and 50,000 distribution records. Since 1999, the database has been online, through the web server of the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ), and has attracted a reasonable amount of hits, some resulting in comments, and corrections and additions to the content. Some of the decisions taken at the design stage of the database are discussed. A preliminary analysis of the data in the database is presented. This clearly shows a marked ‘observer’ bias, and demonstrates the need to continue the efforts of collecting information.