The pilot project was meant to develop a cost effective method for collecting and analyzing information regarding the fishery on reservoirs, identify suitable management strategies and test and demonstrate these strategies. The first phase of this pilot project focused on data collection. This report analyzed the data collection methods, as well as the data in order to identify suitable management strategies. The pilot project sampled fish stocks in fifteen reservoirs, conducted a socio-economic study around four reservoirs and carried out a catch monitoring survey at two. Unfortunately these activities were not synchronized, as they were not all carried out on the same reservoirs, nor during the same period. This has had a negative effect on the analysis of the information collected.
Nevertheless, the information as presented in this document, clearly supports the identification of a suitable management strategy for the reservoirs in Eastern Province of Zambia.
In the current situation in the rural areas in Eastern Province, there are not many alternative sources of animal protein, the majority of the households rarely has cash to buy fish or meat and there are few possibilities to use surplus labour to earn an additional income. Professional fishers tend to sell their fish for higher prices than local fishers, and consequently their fish does not reach the local markets. The local community thus tries to make surplus labour productive by going out fishing in the reservoirs.
Restriction of access to the dam to a few fishers who fish on a commercial basis would worsen the food security situation for the majority of the community, limit their possibilities for additional sources of income, and in short lead to undesirable social problems. Moreover, results from Makungwa indicate that full-time commercial fishery is not sustainable on the reservoirs.
A fair distribution of the communal fish resource is in line with the objectives of ASIP, and can be achieved by the promotion of labour intensive and capital extensive fishing methods since less privileged target groups often do have labour available at a low cost during certain times of the year, but capital is scarce. This would plead in favour of a ban of the net fishery in the reservoirs in Eastern Province and a control over the fishery by the local community. This would mean a loss of income for the full-time fishers as well as a minor loss of income for the District Councils from the licensing fees, which also means a loss in their power to control the issuing of fishing licenses.
This strategy can be tested on a limited number of reservoirs, although it is likely that complete implementation would only have beneficial effects for the fishery and the local communities.
The initiation of the following activities to improve the management and increase the production of the reservoirs are therefore advised:
Determination of which fish species are most suitable for stocking the reservoirs to increase the production by filling vacant niches. The practical workability, as well as the financial feasibility of such a stocking exercise has to be considered.
Investigation of how a ban on net fishing on reservoirs in Eastern Province can be implemented, and how the local communities can be empowered to control the other fishing activities on the reservoirs. It may be necessary to test this management strategy on a few selected reservoirs and monitor the effect of it. The monitoring should include practical implications of the management, the satisfaction of the community, the overall production of the fishery, the seasonality of the catches, but also the distribution of the fish among the community members.
