The chambo fishery is one of the most important commercial fisheries in Lake Malawi. The three major species exploited are Oreochromis lidole, O. squamipinnis and O. karongae. The south-east arm of the lake is by far the most productive area. Alimoso (1986) estimated that the maximum sustainable yield is around 4,000 tonnes of chambo. The commercial sector lands about 50% of the chambo catch from the area which is caught by the commercial ringnets and the midwater trawl. The other 50% is caught by artisanal fishermen (Alimoso et al; 1990).
The primary objective of this paper is to provide the age - growth information on chambo species in the south east arm, with a view to using it for stock assessment.
Attempts to estimate the age of chambo using different methods have been made (Lowe, 1952; Whitehead, 1989; and Banda, 1989), but no information on growth parameters is available. In the present study age and growth parameters for chambo species have been estimated using age information determined from bands occurring on bones. The reliability of the derived parameters has been checked against length frequency analysis results.
