ARTISANAL FISHERIES OF THE CHAD BASIN IN AFRICA An Overview of Research and Annotated Bibliography 1920–1990. CIFA Occasional Paper No. 18.
The artisanal fisheries of the Chad Basin are amongst the most productive inland fisheries in Africa, and despite the deleterious impact of recent Sahel drought episodes, remain a significant component of the regional and national economies of the associated riparian countries: Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger. However, in common with many other African inland fisheries, attempts to plan for the future management and sustainable development of the resource are complicated by a lack of fundamental information in many subject areas.
It is the primary objective of this overview to highlight the nature of this information problem, using the artisanal fisheries of the Chad Basin as a case-study. A comprehensive array of 188 publications concerning the fisheries between 1900–1990 have been assembled in the form of an annotated and indexed bibliography, and reviewed according to subject-area. As a result of this analysis, a series of conclusions are presented highlighting the status of the information-base and identifying future multi-disciplinary research priorities.
It is suggested that amongst others, the priorities should include: (a) climatic research which may lead to a greater understanding of the dynamic environmental conditions affecting fish stocks; (b) investigations of traditional resource management systems which might allow incorporation of the empirical knowledge of the indigenuous peoples into modern management schemes; and (c) research to assess and predict the impact of regional and national economic modernization on the development of the fisheries.