Report of the Technical Consultation on Species for Small Reservoir Fisheries and Aquaculture in Southern Africa. ALCOM Report No. 19.
The Technical Consultation on Species for Small Reservoir Fishieries and Aquaculture in Southern Africa organised by ALCOM, was held from 7 to 11 November 1994 in Livingstone, Zambia. It was attended by 52 participants from within and outside the region.
The presentations and group discussions illustrated the situation in Southern Africa where fish species have been frequently introduced. The consultation concluded that the effects of any introduction are extremely difficult to predict due to limited knowledge of the dynamics of the various ecosystems.
The consultation showed that due to the diversity of culture systems and resource ownership, the changes in economies and wide variety of purposes of culturing fish, it is impossible to predict what species are most likely to be introduced in the future.
It is therefore necessary for all countries to have a logical and systematic system in place to regulate the movements of aquatic organisms. All countries share riversystems and the introduction of a species in one country is of direct concern to the other countries. The consultation made several recommendations on how the region could develop a system that would improve the evaluation of any proposed introduction and ensure the collaboration between countries in the region.