There are approximately 200 reservoirs in Eastern Province of Zambia with a total surface area of nearly 1000 hectares. The studies did not produce exact production figures for these reservoirs, but the fish production does not appear to have a great impact on the food situation of the whole population of the Province, which is estimated at around one million people. It showed, however that fish from the reservoirs is an important source of protein for the local population.
The study looked at the fishery of five reservoirs in the Province and it is dangerous to generalize its findings. However, the fish species composition of the five reservoirs studied corresponds well with the composition of the total 15 reservoirs sampled. These reservoirs are also located in the same river system as most of the other reservoirs in the Province and can, from the point of view of species composition, be considered representative.
At the start of the pilot project it was believed that the reservoirs were generally under-exploited. The dominance of B. paludinosus in the stock sampling, and the fact that this species is hardly ever caught in the nets of fishers, contributed to the idea that the fish stocks were not efficiently exploited. Especially the information obtained with the socio-economic study revealed that gears other than nets did catch a much wider range of fish species, and that the trap fishers and the hook and line fishers, as well as the fisheries using grass bundles caught B. paludinosus effectively.
From the data presented in this report it can be concluded that the fish stocks in the reservoirs are not underexploited, but are intensively exploited, and most likely in many cases overexploited.
The study showed however, that fishing pressure is not constant and varies with the seasons, nets more intensively used during the dry season, while hook and line and trap fishing practiced mainly during the rainy season.
The perceived lack of animal protein is not constant throughout the year and is most severe during the rainy season. Fish from reservoirs did not replace meat or eggs, but was an additional source of animal protein available at a time when there was a shortage of animal protein in the area. As has been shown in other studies in Eastern Province, people with access to reservoir fisheries consumed significantly more fish than people who had no access. Another important factor is that fishing was a way of making surplus labour productive through capturing fish for home consumption and/or selling it to obtain an additional income. This was particular helpful for the lower income groups, like the anglers and to a lesser degree for trap fishers and those using other gear. The non-fishers often bought or received fish from local fishers, which was a valuable contribution to ease their precarious food situation.
At present there is little management of the reservoir fishery. Most gear can be used without a permit. Nets do require a permit from the District Council. The Department of Fisheries is supposed to advise on the licensing of net fishers, but in most cases is not consulted. Moreover, the District Council and the Department of Fisheries do not communicate with the majority of the fishers. Thus the two authorities responsible for the issuing of permits for gillnets and checking of the nets, do so without having any idea on the fish stocks and the fishery on the reservoirs. This means that permits are not issued on the basis of potential to increase the fishing pressure on a particular reservoir.
After the issuing of gillnet licenses, there is no system in place to ensure that the nets are used according to the regulations. This study showed that most nets are used as seine nets, which is officially not allowed. From the average size of the fish caught in these nets, it is obvious that the mesh sizes used are much smaller than the legal minimum of 3.5 inch. Since most reservoirs are too small to sustain a full time net fishery in combination with an intensive fishery using other gears, most net fishers move from one dam to another when the catches decrease, using the same license.
These migrant net fishers catch a large portion of the total yield, while they represent less than 1% of the fishing population. This phenomenon is especially striking in Makungwa dam where six “migrant” fishers catch, according to the information of the catch monitoring survey, up to 92% of the total yield. This means the benefits of the fish resource are not distributed on an equitable basis.
In order to identify the most suitable management strategy for the reservoir fishery, these findings have to be reviewed taking the development policy and the possible management options into consideration.
The management strategies for the reservoir fishery have to harmonize with the development policy of the Zambian Government. The current government policies for the fisheries sector place great emphasis on job creation without taking into consideration the capacity of the resource to withstand the increased fishing pressure. The newly proposed fishery policies (1996) aim at reversing this trend and are designed to enhance fisheries growth based on rational management practices. The policies, as described in the fisheries sub-programme of Agricultural Structural Investment Programme (ASIP), include:
to encourage the use of available labour to eliminate rural poverty and increase gainful employment;
to encourage increased but sustainable use of the available natural resource base;
to promote conservation of all aquatic resources based on sound ecological principles;
to encourage greater participation by the private sector, traditional institutions, and NGO's in resource management,
to create a legal framework conducive to greater involvement by the private sector in fisheries related activities;
to improve the technical capability and conditions of service of DoF staff, in view of the ongoing Public Service reform programme aimed at improving efficiency.
These policies are designed to lead to an increase in fish production in the country.
Three general options to enhance the reservoir fishery exist:
increase the productivity of the reservoirs;
increase the total revenue of the fishery;
maximize the yield through optimizing the fishing effort.
The productivity of the reservoirs can be increased through stocking of species that would fill unoccupied or under utilized niches. Since reservoirs are created by obstructing a river, the original species composition is riverine. The construction of the reservoir changed the aquatic environment and it may be that the riverine species are not adapted to fill all the vacant niches. This was one of the reasons why the Department of Fisheries stocked several reservoirs with O. andersonii, O, macrochir and T. rendalli. When stocking other species, care should be taken not to introduce species that do not originate from the same riversystem. Introductions from other riversystems can only be conducted after careful study of alternative species and investigation of possible effects of the introduction. The stock sampling showed that many reservoirs hold a limited number of fish species. It is obvious that the production of many reservoirs can be enhanced through the introduction of additional species.
The productivity can also be increased through fertilization of the dam or feeding of the fish. This option is not possible in the context of the reservoirs in Eastern Province since the water from the reservoirs is also used for domestic consumption and fertilization can be seen as polluting the water. Production increase through the introduction of aquaculture techniques like cage culture is not practical in the context where inputs for fish feeds are scarce. Besides, the economic situation of the local community living around reservoirs does not justify the introduction of capital intensive culture systems.
The total revenue of a fishery can be improved through a change in catch composition towards the more valuable species. The fisheries assessment gave data concerning the gear selectivity while stock sampling results gave the relative abundance of the different species. This information, together with the prices of the fish can be used to formulate a strategy which can augment the Maximum Economic Yield. Seasonal variation in catches, gear effectiveness, prices and labour availability have to be taken into account. Distinct price differences for different fish species or sizes, mainly exist in urban areas. Implementation of this option would mean that the fish will be sold outside the community, and benefits will be restricted to only few specialized fishers. Fishing will become a source of income for few, rather than a source of animal protein for the community, and a little extra income for many. Seen the importance of the fish for local food security, this management option is not in line with the development policies.
To regulate the fishing effort in such a way that the maximum yield is obtained requires control. Legally, only the net fishery can be controlled, but this report demonstrated that licensing of fishing permits is not done on the basis of attaining the optimal fishing pressure on the reservoirs, neither is the use of the nets controlled. Under the cover of a permit, nets are used as seine nets, increasing the efficiency of the net, smaller mesh sizes than allowed are used, and nets are used on various dams. This has led to overfishing of the fish stocks.
The lack of communication between the Department of Fisheries and the District Council on the one hand, and user groups on the other, concerning the issuing of net licenses has resulted in an unsustainable and inequitable use of the common resources. Co-operation of all villages around a reservoir is essential to establish secure user rights which is a prerequisite for sustainable management. ASIP encourages greater participation by the private sector, traditional institutions, and NGO's in resource management. Community surveys and meetings show that reservoir communities and their leaders are concerned about perceived overfishing, lack of control over fishing activities, and benefits from fishing which flow out of the community.
