According to the FAO, artisanal or small-scale fisheries worldwide employ over 90% of all fishermen and contribute some 24 million tons of fish for human consumption worldwide. Recognition of their significance in tropical areas has made these fisheries an important focus for international development projects supported by organisations such as the World Bank. However, despite substantial efforts, the number of successful projects, particularly in Africa, remains relatively low.
The reasons for this outcome are both numerous, and in many cases, complex. However, major problems are likely to occur right from the planning stage of any initiative, given our poor knowledge and understanding of tropical fisheries: a problem of fundamental information, in the broadest sense. Consequently, it is difficult to ensure a balanced, multi-disciplinary approach to sustainable development. This may eventually lead to a failure to meet project objectives.
An appropriate starting point, therefore, in attempting to improve upon this situation is to identify the scope and nature of the information problem. It is the general aim of this study to focus upon one particular artisanal fishery complex in Africa, the inland fisheries of the Chad Basin, and to use this as a case study to identify information and research priorities for future development needs.
The Chad Basin has been chosen for a number of reasons. Although located in the drought-prone Sahel-Savanna latitudes of Africa (Figures 1.& 2.), the fisheries are amongst the most productive in the whole continent; estimated landings between 1960–1988 were 1.7 million tons (Figure 3). As a result this resource has a high economic and nutritional significance to the region as well as supplying fish to many distant urban markets in Nigeria (Figure 4.). In addition, although the Chad Basin is remote and inaccessible, the fisheries have been the subject of detailed research and are probably as well-known as many other inland fisheries in Africa. A number of fisheries development projects have taken place in the past in the region concentrating on the introduction of new gear and improved fish processing methods. However, there are none active at present.
It should be noted that the although fisheries production in the Chad Basin has been adversely affected by the recent Sahel drought periods of 1972–73 and 1983–87, the resource still remains a significant component of the economy of the region. The improved rainfall of 1988–90 has been encouraging for a rejuvenation of the water bodies and their fisheries, and there are strong possibilities that climatologists in the near future will be able to predict such developments with a greater degree of accuracy, according to scientists at the Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research1. The challenge now for those involved with fisheries planning and development in this region is to come up with appropriate and imaginative schemes which will incorporate this type of information.
1 Pearce, F. (1991) A sea change in the Sahel. New Scientist 2 February 1991. Pp. 31–32.
Although a number of other multi-disciplinary bibliographies of the Chad Basin have been produced (Ardizonne, 1975; Leveque, 1988), the current work is a first attempt to update and review information specifically on fisheries from all of the different available sources: Nigerian, British, French and International Agencies (e.g. FAO). In addition, this is the first annotated bibliography for Chad Basin fisheries - a format specifically chosen to make the published information more accessible.
Undoubtedly, future development plans for the Chad Basin must take special consideration of its important fisheries resources. Although, it must be emphasized that a recently reported development plan to use the waters of the Chad Basin in a massive trans-African irrigation scheme2, seem to pay little attention to the potentially disasterous ecological, economic and social impact which this would have on the fisheries.
It is hoped that this bibliography can be used by all concerned as a “tool” to help plan for appropriate sustainable development based on a good foundation of information. A key fact that has emerged from this work is that there is much yet to be learned about the Chad Basin fisheries. Identifying and proceeding with appropriate research to fill this information-gap must therefore be seen an essential and worthwhile part of the development process.
To summarize the above, the major objectives of this study are:
1.2.1. To assemble all publications on the artisanal fisheries of the Chad Basin from 1900 to 1990.
1.2.2. To arrange the publications in an indexed bibliography with keywords and brief annotations (abstract) in order to make the information which they contain as accessible as possible.
1.2.3. To review the assembled publications by subject-area in order to highlight critical information and to present a series of conclusions on the status of the information-base relevant to establishing future research priorities.
2 Pearce, F. (1991) Africa at a watershed. New Scientist 23 March 1991. Pp. 34–40
There were five main sources of information:
The British Library (Document Supply Service), Boston Spa, Wetherby, West Yorkshire LS23 7BQ, UK.
The FAO (Fisheries Branch) Library, Via delle Terme di Caracalla, 00100 Rome, Italy.
ORSTOM, Documentation Service, Centre de Bondy, 70–74, Route d'Aulnay, 93143 Bondy Cedex, France.
ORSTOM Library, Centre de Montpellier, Av. Montferrand, Montpellier, France.
The Lake Chad Research Institute (LCRI), Airport Road, Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria.
Although the majority of publications were obtained directly from the sources above, and can be traced through international on-line bibliographic databases, other informal documents were kindly supplied by the authors and their host institutions to whom I am very grateful.
The publications included in the bibliography have been listed alphabetically according to author.
Author name is followed on a new line by the title of the publication in bold type.
Publication titles written in French are subsequently followed by the English translation in square brackets [ ].
The title is followed continuously by the place of publication (refereed journal, Institution report or document), the chapter and page number according to the Harvard System. The number of references is also indicated.
The language(s) of publication is indicated: English (En), French (Fr).
Each work has been allocated a mutually-exclusive Primary Index Term which best describes the subject area of the work. There are ten Primary Index terms covering the following areas:
General Appraisals
Fish Resource Surveys
Fisheries Ecology
Fish Processing
Fisheries Anthropology
Fisheries Resources and Production
Fish Biology
Fishing Technology
Fish Commerce and Marketing
Research Methodology
The Primary Index Term is followed by a geographical location term and a number of Secondary Index Terms which best describe the content of the work. For publications on Fish Biology only, this sequence is preceeded by the Latin name of the fish (Genus, specific name).
Each reference is annotated. The abstract briefly summarises the content of the work.
The Primary and Secondary Index Terms are listed alphabetically in Section 5.0. to provide an easy reference index. Indices are also provided for species, geographical location and author. In the case of the Pro-cite form, a search can be undertaken for any number of key words in both the reference quoted and the annotations.
In order to highlight the major works and findings, the information is reviewed according to Subject-Area as denoted by the Primary Index Terms. In order to retain a high degree of conciseness each review is limited to a maximum of 700 words. The primary objective here is to provide a guide to the publications included in each section. It must be noted that the division of the publications between these ten main categories is not without its problems due to the degree of overlap between many of the items included. While accepting that the allocation of terms is imperfect, the major objective here of providing a workable system of information analysis has, it is felt, been achieved.
