Artisanal Fishery: a small-scale commercial fishing operation, using various nets and small planked boats or canoes, powered manually or by outboard engine (chambo and kambuzi seine (qv) nets, nkatcha net (qv), chirimila net (qv), gillnet). Generally referred to in Malawi as ‘Traditional Fisheries’. Can be divided into the group of fisherman-entrepreneurs, who own the fishing equipment and the group of crew members, who are employed to operate or to assist in operating the fishing unit.
Bottom Trawl: Demersal trawl operated by a single boat, usually in water deeper than 50m.
Chambo: 3 endemic species of tilapiine cichlids classified within the subgenus Nyasalapia of the genus Oreochromis_.
Chambo Seine: a large-meshed beach seine targeted on chambo (qv)
Chirimila Net: a small seine net used clear of the bottom to catch usipa (qv), utaka (qv) and ncheni (qv).
Chisawasawa: chichewa name for some categories of demersal haplochromine cichlids (qv): (i) large species caught by gillnets; (ii) small species caught by pair trawls (qv); (iii) all species caught by Maldeco Fisheries (qv).
Copadichromis: small zooplankton-feeding haplochromine cichlids (qv). Mostly found inshore in shallow waters, a few metres above the bottom (‘semipelagic’).
CPUE: catch per unit effort. Weight of fish caught in a given unit of time by a standard type of fishing craft. A direct measure of the density of fish in the environment.
Diplotaxodon: a genus of haplochromine cichlids (qv) endemic to Lake Malawi, confined to waters with a bottom depth greater than 20m. Most species are undescribed. The most important food fishes are small pelagic zooplankton feeders - ecological counterparts to Limnothrissa of Lake Tanganyika.
Endemic: naturally-occurring exclusively within a specific area (NB not to be confused with indigenous, which means naturally-occurring within a specific area, but not necessarily only that area).
Fatch: Mr. F. Fatch. Prior to 1992, the only semi-industrial (qv) fishing operator to use a technique other than pair trawling (qv). Owner of a bottom trawl (qv) unit in the S.E. Arm and a pair trawl unit in the S.W. Arm.
Fish traders: all people who buy and sell fish for commercial purposes, including fishermen who sell the catch at other places than the beach where they land
Fishing integrated enterprise: set of interrelated fishing economic units and non-fisheries income earning activities, which are managed by the members of a fisherman-entrepreneurs household and hired labourers
Fox Model: a surplus production model for the calculation of the MSY (qv) of a fishery. It is based on a regression of the logarithm of cpue on effort. Appropriate for fish stocks which do not collapse suddenly at high levels of exploitation.
Fmsy: Fishing effort required to produce the MSY (qv).
Haplochromines: demersal, pelagic and semipelagic cichlids of the haplochromine tribe of the family cichlidae. Mostly, but not all, small species.
Household: consists of one or more persons, related or unrelated, who make common provision for food; they take regularly all their food from the same pot and/or share the same grain store or pool their income for the purpose of purchasing food; they may live in one or more dwelling units
Industrial Fishery: fishing operation with a high degree of capitalization, including considerable investment in onshore landing, processing, repair and transport facilities.
Kambuzi: small cichlids caught by seine nets. Mostly small demersal species, but also including juveniles of larger demersal and pelagic species.
Kambuzi Seine: a small-meshed beach seine targeted on kambuzi (qv), usipa (qv) or immature chambo (qv).
Kampango: Bagrus meridionalis, a large predatory catfish
Lethrinops: a genus of haplochromine cichlids (qv) endemic to Lake Malawi and associated water bodies. Includes most of the important demersal species exploited by trawl fisheries.
Maldeco: Maldeco Fisheries Limited, a subsidiary of Press Incorporated. The only industrial fishing (qv) company presently operating in Malawi. Ring nets, midwater trawls and bottom trawls are used; target species are chambo, ndunduma and chisawasawa.
Matola: local name for private commercial transport
Mbaba: chichewa name for large demersal haplochromine cichlids (qv) caught by seines or pair trawls (qv).
Mechanised Fishery: a fishery operated by larger craft, using inboard engines (includes both industrial (qv) and semi-industrial (qv) fisheries). Generally referred to as ‘Commercial Fisheries’ in Malawi.
Midwater Trawl: a semipelagic trawl, in which heavy otter boards are set to drag the bottom, but the net is weighted to float clear of the substrate.
MSY: Maximum sustainable yield: The largest weight of fish which can be caught in a given time period (usually one year), without causing a reduction in catch rates in future years.
Ncheni: chichewa name for haplochromine (qv) cichlids of the genus Rhamphochromis (qv).
Ndunduma: chichewa name for haplochromine (qv) cichlids of the genus Diplotaxodon (qv).
Nkatcha Net: a seine net operated from two boats, which in hauled along the bottom and closed (‘pursed’) by a diver.
Pair Trawl: a demersal trawl, without otter boards, pulled by two craft.
Rhamphochromis: a genus of haplochromine cichlids (qv), endemic to Lake Malawi and associated water bodies. Surface-living fish-eaters. Some species are truly pelagic, others inshore-living. Ecological counterparts to Luciolates stappersi and Bathybates of Lake Tanganyika.
Ringnet: a purse seine operated by Maldeco Fisheries (qv). Presently operated by pairs of inboard-powered boats and manually-hauled. Mostly used with 102mm mesh and catching almost exclusively adult chambo (qv).
Schaefer Model: a surplus production model for the calculation of the maximum sustainable yield of a fishery. Based on a linear regression of cpue on effort. Appropriate for fish stocks which show dramatic declines at high fishing effort.
Semi-Industrial Fishery: a mechanised (qv) fishing operation characterised by little or no investment in onshore facilities. Stern trawlers and pair trawlers operate bottom trawls; target species are chisawasawa and chambo.
Subsistence Fishery: small scale fishing operation, using inexpensive gears, and producing small catches, often mainly for some consumption (fish trap, handline, longline, cast net, scoop net).
Usipa: a small pelagic cyprinid, Engraulicypris sardella, endemic to Lake Malawi and associated water bodies. Ecological counterpart to Rastrinebola in Lake Victoria and Stolothrissa in Lake Tanganyika.
Utaka: chichewa name for small zooplankton-feeding haplochromine (qv) cichlids, mostly of the genus Copadichromis (qv). Mostly found inshore in shallow waters, a few metres above the bottom, and thus referred to as ‘semipelagic’.
