Artisanal fishermen are mainly Fanti (Ghana), Popoh (Benin) and Kru (Liberia) peoples using dug-out or plank canoes. From 1976 to 1977, 853 pirogues were censured, only 85 of which were registered. There was no collection system before 1977. Catches for the Cape Mount, Grand Bassa, Sinoe, Montserrado and Maryland sectors were about 2 140 t, over 70 percent of which were pelagic species.
As for industrial fisheries, there is only one company, the Mesurado Fishing Complex, a joint venture of the Mesurado Fishing Company and Continental Sea Foods. The standardized fleet is made up of 25 vessels ranging from 20.5 to 27 metres. Landings (in tons) were:
| Year | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fish1 | 472 | 1 300 | 1 200 | 1 850 | 2 500 | 1 984 | 2 193 | 2 984 |
| Shrimp2 | (630) | (800) | 1 300 | 1 429 | 1 350 | 1 454 | 1 166 | 1 689 |
2 The 1971–74 data are from Garcia and Lhomme (1977).
Appendix 3 gives a breakdown by species of catches from 1971 to 1978.
Appendix 4, Mr Brainerd's report, bears witness to the major effort undertaken by Sierra Leone to improve statistical data.
Artisanal fishermen work with three kinds of canoes. The 6 m Kru type is operated by a single fisherman using four handlines at the same time to fish inshore and estuarine stocks (suprathermocline) soft bottom fauna - Longhurst). The 8 m, motorized (8–15 hp) standard type carries three to five men and is used for gillnetting (150–200 m × 10–12 m, stretched mesh 40–60 mm). The 10–12 m “snapper” type (or longliner), is driven by a 15–40 hp motor and carries an average crew of ten men. Fishing is with bottom-set longlines. The crews are at sea from one to two weeks in the dry season and the fish is smoked on board. Fish statistics by species are available for 1977–78. Catches exceed 40 000 t, 95 percent of which are pelagics (Appendix 4). Beach seines have disappeared, apparently for economic reasons.
Industrial fishing is done by national and foreign flag vessels. The national fleet numbered from four to ten vessels between 1967 and 1978. These 25–30 m vessels (250–400 hp) fish 25–50 m depths with 40–60 mm stretched mesh, and are at sea from three to five days. Since 1978 three liners have been at sea as much as one week with two days en route.
Foreign flag vessels range from 800 to 2 800 hp. There are no data on their rigging.
Since 1977 all these vessels have had a new type of logbook which is distributed by the Fisheries Division. Statistics on landings to factories by the national fleet are also collected as a control measure. These data are given in Appendix 4. Soviet flag vessels have been writing up these logbooks since 1979. In addition, catches by species are available from 1975–78 (800–14 500 t).
There is very little information on the activities of other foreign fleets. Ghana catch data are available for 1978 (950 t).
Other data sources, especially those from exploratory surveys, are also summarized in the annexed report.
Artisanal fisheries are estimated to include 3 000 canoes landing about 7 000 t of fish (FAO, 1979), with 70 percent “ethmalose”. Very little is known about the industrial fishery, which is practised by national fleets (OPEMA and SONAPECHE) and foreign flag vessels (Japan, Greece, Italy, Republic of Korea, USSR). Sixty-five vessels of various tonnages were working in 1979. The total catches in waters under national jurisdiction are not known because the corresponding data were not submitted. Estimated catches for all fleets present, excepting the Soviet fleet, rose from 280 t in 1971 to 13 800 t in 1978 (Appendix 5). Soviet landings rose from 3 000 t in 1971 to 10 000 t in 1976 and then peaked. The Soviet catch, which is much greater, is not known.
The major species caught belong to the families of the Sciaenidae, Ariidae, Polynemidae (estuarine facies) and Sparidae (hard bottoms). Authorized mesh size is 80 mm (stretched), but 60 mm mesh is commonly used.
There is little information on artisanal fisheries. A study is underway to provide a general census of current means of production (distribution of fishermen and gear). The fishery will develop mainly out of Bubaque (Bissagos archipelago) and Cacheu, on the Cacheu river, but is in any case widely dispersed. Landing estimates in the two major centres, based on taxes, are given in Appendixes 4.1, 4.2. A small firm (PERALTA) has five vessels (of which two are in running condition, with 3–4 t capacity and 40–50 hp) each collecting the catches of two 10 m canoes fishing with nets in the islands north of the Bissagos archipelago.
The industrial fisheries sector is represented by three joint venture companies (ESTRELA DO MAR, SEMAPESCA and GUIALP, the second a new company) and by Soviet, Italian, Japanese and Portuguese foreign flag vessels. The three companies manage the following vessels:
ESTRELA DO MAR: four Guinean trawlers and seven Soviet trawlers (five in operation in 1979)
SEMAPESCA: five trawlers (not yet operational in May 1979)
GUIALP: seven trawlers, halted since 1978.
The total number of vessels in 1979 was 93 (Appendix 6). Breakdown by nationality is given in Appendix 4.3. Catch and effort data are scanty.
Since a complete study of the historical data had been made at the preceding meeting of the Working party (FAO, 1979) the report on Senegal was brief; but it did indicate that a new programme to process old data is now complete, the 1978 statistics available, and the 1979 statistics being processed. While catches by species and fishing grounds as well as by nominal effort are available, the cpue from 1969 onwards are not entirely satisfactory for the reasons given before (FAO, 1979, Appendix 9). A new analysis covering the last ten years is underway, with a better appraisal of the specific effort. It should be completed in 1980. Appendix 7 gives the changing picture of the national trawling fleet (numbers, power, fishing methods and preservation), nominal effort (number of fishing days and days at sea) changes in catches by species or groups of species (shrimps, cephalopods, “red” fish, “grey” fish) catches by species of traditional and modern artisanal fisheries (“lines”) for 1977 and 1978, as well as the catches of the Spanish fleet for these years.
Modern artisanal fisheries are developing very rapidly in Senegal. The “liners” are in fact 12 m vessels equipped with diesel motors (ten fishermen) making eight-day trips, with yields of 2–3 t per trip. The ten-men crews fish with handlines. The species landed are all noble and of large size (Dentex filosus, Epinephelus caninus, E. goreensis, E. aeneus, Pagrus ehrenbergi and P. pagrus).
No new information is available.
Catches in this country are among the largest in the region, and yet no exact data are available for vessels landing in Nouadhibou or for foreign vessels. The bulk of the catch is in the Sahara coastal division (34.1.3). Mauritania is no longer issuing licences and the trend is toward a policy favouring joint venture companies. Only the Japanese and the Spanish were still fishing in May 1979. So far, a very small portion of the catches has gone through Nouadhibou. The national artisanal fishery is estimated to land about 7 000 t.
