Fisheries has now been included in the Agriculture Water Development Policy as an activity in multipurpose dams after discussions with the Water Development Section (WDS, formerly Small Dams Section) of the Ministry of Agriculture
Reservoirs in communal areas can be classified into three categories:
The ownership of reservoirs in communal areas is unclear, mainly for the WDS. Discussions were held with different officers at different levels within the Ministry of Agriculture, both at the headquarters and out in the Regions/Districts, to try to solve this problem. After discussion, an agreement for WDS reservoirs was accepted. It said that the “owner” is the group to whom the reservoir has been handed over after completion and this is the one that should agree to fishing activities in their reservoir. These groups consist of people responsible for fencing the reservoirs, for regulating the watering of cattle and for irrigation.
Therefore the Fisheries Section and ALCOM tried to work through the dam groups attached to each reservoir. Because of many mal-functioning or non-existing dam management groups, this has been very difficult. In many instances, the members of the dam group, even the members of the management committee, don't live in the area during most part of the year and therefore meet very seldom. This was the case with the Semarule Dam group and its management committee. Who should then have the authority to sign a fisheries agreement in the absence of the original “owner”? On several occasions the dam group at Semarule was approached for discussions about management and a fishing agreement, and they failed at all times to meet. Contact was made with the DAO office in Molepolole and the AD in Gakgatla asking them to arrange a meeting. In May 1992 a meeting was held with the chief of Gakgatla village and the importance of a dam committee meeting was again stressed.
It appeared that the agreement was not clear enough. Discussions on the responsibilities over reservoirs were initiated during the second half of 1992 with the District Development Committee (DDC) and the District Land Use Planning Unit (DLUPU) in the Southern District. These committees represent all the ministries and institutions involved in development activities in the district. They have no legal power to decide, but they can discuss under which institution the overall responsibility for the reservoirs should lie. During discussions in January 1993, the issue was presented at a DLUPU meeting and it was asked to come up with a recommendation for the DDC meeting. DLUPU failed to come up with a recommendation, so the issue had to be presented also at the DDC meeting. The issue was deferred and should be discussed during and extraordinary meeting before April 1993.
At Mamokhasi reservoir (about 15 ha), discussions were initiated together with a group of women horticulturists who own the dam. They would like to try cage culture on a small scale, to be kept in their own irrigation reservoir below the main reservoir. But this cage project at the Mamokhasi irrigation scheme had to be postponed, since it was not possible to find any bream fingerlings after the drought.
Because of problems with ownership of the smaller reservoirs in communal areas and the drought, practical fisheries work focused on the three big reservoirs under the WUC (600–1900 ha). Two of these reservoirs are in rural areas (Shashe and Bokaa dams) and one is close to the capital (Gaborone dam) in an area where the very poor live. It has been easier to work with reservoirs under WUC since legislation concerning reservoir use exists which sets out the rules and makes it possible to intervene if a licensee does not follow the agreement. Meetings were held with WUC's Dam Amenity Committee on several occasions.
Based on a discussion paper presented during the Dam Amenity meeting in July 1992, the number of fishing licenses was increased from four to a total of nine, allotted thus: four on Gaborone dam, three on Sashe dam and two on Bokaa. Each license involves an average of three fishermen who are allowed to use 15 gillnets per day all year (25 m long/net mounted). By the end of 1992 seven of the licenses were in different stages of operation. Additional meetings were held where the agreement was amended to better reflect differences between the different reservoirs. A request for a license for Nnywane reservoir is pending. Cooperation was established with an NGO, the Botswana Christian Council, to work with a fishing group at Gaborone reservoir.
Demonstrations have been carried out with dam groups on how to fish, how to prepare and cook it. Such demonstrations could induce interest in fisheries.
A one-week training course was initiated for fishermen representing three licenses in Gaborone reservoir. The course was organized and led by the fisheries section staff with ALCOM inputs regarding special aspects concerning reservoirs.
The course was appreciated because fishermen from different areas got to know each other. Participants felt that they will need more courses of this kind to refresh their skills in mounting and mending nets.
A one-week course was held for 15 people from Fisheries Section, representing the Senior Fisheries Officer, the Regional Fisheries Officer, one Technical Officer, one Chief Technical Assistant and six Fisheries Field Assistants. It was held in Maun during December 1992, and included practical test fishing using the Drottningholm method and collection of limnological data. The aim was to share experiences from ALCOM activities with the whole section.
A booklet was produced and handed over to all participants. It can function as an extension module for reservoir fisheries, to be a natural part of the Section's extension work. The staff members expressed a desire for more workshops on different subjects so that they gain in confidence. During this workshop, they realised the need for another course on limnology and identification of species through the use of a simple checklist/pamphlet.
Statistics for fisheries in Botswana hardly exist. Sporadic recordings, of numbers of catch, are available for Shashe reservoir. During the training course and workshop, the importance of proper catch recording was pointed out to fishermen and fisheries staff.
Catch record forms were designed and distributed to three groups in Gaborone reservoir and catch was recorded from October/November by two groups. An effort was made to try to set an estimated mean weight for the fish species caught in Shashe reservoir in order to calculate the total weight of catches to enable future comparison. A spreadsheet was designed for easy compilation of monthly and yearly catch statistics.
Five different mesh sizes (31, 38, 50, 57 and 62 mm bar height) of multifilament nylon gill nets, the most commonly used in Botswana, were set overnight and a few also during the day. Mesh sizes with a bar height of 12.5mm and 25mm are also available but are not used very much in Botswana. Each net set was 25 m long and had a height of 1.5–2 m. They were designed as topset nets, but because of shallowness of the reservoirs they stretched from top to bottom.
The catch from multifilament nets varied with the mesh size. The catch was dominated by the bream O. andersonii but also by C. gariepinus and C. carpio. Schilbe mystus, Tilapia sparrmanii, T. rendalli, Labeo cylindricus, L molybdinus, L ruddi, M. macrolepidotus and Barbus mattozi were caught.
All mesh sizes (31 to 62 mm bar height) caught fish of a size that was accepted as food by the local community. The catch result from the different fishing exercises with multifilament nets are shown in Tables 6–9. Catches in weight are very good for nets with mesh size of 50mm bar height and above, and the breams caught are mature. Most tilapias caught by the 38mm mesh size are mature, but to ensure safe fish recruitment during any further fishery exploitation, it would be advisable to use gillnets with mesh size of 50mm bar height and above.
A seine net with mesh size of 12 mm bar height was tried in Bokaa reservoir to catch some smaller fish to stock a small school pond. It had a depth of 1.5–2 m and a length of 20 m. Two hauls were made after sunset, between 7 and 7.30 pm. The seine caught 25 O. andersonii and 11 B. trimaculatus. No specimen caught in the seine net was more than 100 mm in length. The fishing gear trials (beach seine and trap) do not yield scientific results but give an indication of what we can expect. The beach seine caught only juveniles during the ALCOM trials; further, they can destroy nests of bream, which are the most important fish species (50%) found in reservoirs of Botswana and also the fish most appreciated by the population. Since ensuring the right mesh size is difficult, it is better not to recommend the beach seine if we want good recruitment of bream.
One wire mesh trap was constructed to test its effectiveness for fish capture. It was 80 cm long, 45 cm in diameter and had a chicken mesh size of 13mm. It was tried in Gaborone reservoir, both during the day and at night. The bait used was thick maize porridge. It was set from the boat close to submerged vegetation at about 2 m depth. The catch recorded from the trap fishing over a period of two nights and three days in Gaborone reservoir is presented in Table 10. Only Barbus species were caught. It caught nothing during the day.
During dam group meetings held in 1991, some individuals showed interest in fishing if a market was available. They didn't know where to sell fish catches. Therefore, ALCOM conducted a small study during April–June '92 to find out (i) who is interested in buying fish and (ii) whether the fishery is sustainable.
Supermarkets and shops were visited and prices of different fish were compared. The prices of meat products were noted to enable comparison with those of fish products. Samples of fresh fish caught in Gaborone and Semarule reservoirs were distributed to the main hotels and some shops in Gaborone and Molepolole. Comments from these outlets were recorded.
Is fish from Gaborone and Semarule reservoirs acceptable to customers? The answer was positive. Hotels said that the silver catfish was too small for their use and that the bream should preferably be of a relatively big size, since only one fish (filleted) is needed per serving. All but one respondent said that they would like to buy fresh bream from reservoirs. The actual demand for fish is more difficult to assess. For Semarule, the four outlets approached in Molepolole would probably be able to sell most of the fish from the reservoir. Concerning the fish from Gaborone reservoir, more outlets have to be found if it is fished to its full potential.
The conclusion from this small study was that fish from dams is of a good quality and that demand exists, especially for good-sized bream. Knowledge has to be acquired of customer requirements concerning storage and reliable delivery of fish.
During 1992, the Ministry of Agriculture, Planning Unit, made a study on the feasibility of a market for fresh and frozen fish in the Okavango. This report also studied the importance of breams in people's diet. Barbels are not eaten fresh because this species looks like a snake. The study identified a demand for fish which can increase if fish is available and visible in the market.
Further market studies are needed to find a market also for the other species caught such as African catfish and butter catfish, since breams constitute only 50% of the total catches in reservoirs.
