ALCOM Field Document No. 30

Fisheries Monitoring Survey at Sebaboleng Dam, Maseru Town, Lesotho CONTENTS

Lena Westerlund
Economist
(Associate Professional Officer)
ALCOM

Funding Agencies:

SWEDISH INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY BELGIUM ADMINISTRATION FOR DEVELOPMENT CO-OPERATION

Executing Agency:

FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS
Harare, Zimbabwe, December 1994

This report was prepared during the course of the project identified on the cover. The conclusions and recommendations given in the report are those considered appropriate at the time of its preparation. They may be modified in the light of further knowledge gained at subsequent stages of the project.

The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this document do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the United Nations or the Food and Agriculture Organization concerning the legal or constitutional status of any country, territory or sea area, or concerning the delimination of frontiers.

PREFACE

This document discusses the aims, methods and findings of a fisheries monitoring survey carried out between March 1991 and February 1992 at the Sebaboleng dam, Maseru, Lesotho. It was undertaken by the Fisheries Section of the Ministry of Agriculture, Co-operatives and Marketing, Government of Lesotho, and by the Department of Youth and Women's Affairs, in collaboration with ALCOM.

The survey aimed at collecting catch and effort data on the fishery, and basic socio-economic data on individual fishermen. The method and the survey design were also being tested in the process.

This document yields information on the fishermen, the fishery, the fishing effort, and the catch at Sebaboleng dam. It also reproduces the questionnaire used with fishermen and the “key sheets” used to identify fishermen.

Fisheries monitoring is a basic tool to assess fishing pressure at reservoirs and work out management strategies for the fishery. A variety of methods are currently used to determine fishing effort and monitor catches in inland fisheries. This survey tests one method. A slightly different method was tested in Eastern Province, Zambia. From such experiences, it may be possible to eventually develop guidelines for creel surveys for small water body fisheries in Africa.

ALCOM is a regional aquaculture and fisheries programme of the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations). Based in Harare, Zimbabwe, it covers all the member-countries of SADC (Southern African Development Community): Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

The aim of ALCOM is to assist member-countries improve the living standards of rural populations through the practice of aquaculture. Towards this end, pilot activities are conducted in member-countries to demonstrate new techniques, technologies or methodologies. Successes achieved, ideas derived, lessons learnt, are applied on a wider scale by member governments.

ALCOM is funded by Sweden and Belgium. Its preparatory phase began in 1986, and its first implementation phase in 1990.

Address:

Hyperlinks to non-FAO Internet sites do not imply any official endorsement of or responsibility for the opinions, ideas, data or products presented at these locations, or guarantee the validity of the information provided. The sole purpose of links to non-FAO sites is to indicate further information available on related topics.

This electronic document has been scanned using optical character recognition (OCR) software. FAO declines all responsibility for any discrepancies that may exist between the present document and its original printed version.

CONTENTS

SUMMARY

1   INTRODUCTION

2   THE SURVEY

2.1   Purpose and scope
2.2   Methodology
2.2.1   Particular implementation problems
2.3   Definitions
2.4   Site selection and description of site

3   RESULTS FROM KEY SHEET DATA

3.1   Profile of fishermen
3.2   Fishing gear
3.3   Reasons for and frequency of fishing
3.4   Preference of fish species
3.5   Distance homestead-reservoir

4   RESULTS FROM QUESTIONNAIRE DATA

4.1   Introduction
4.2   Fishing effort
4.3   Catch per unit of effort
4.4   Total catch
4.5   Annual fluctuations
4.6   Species composition
4.7   Costs and earnings

5.   CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

6.   REFERENCES

APPENDICES

1.   Questionnaire

2a.   Key sheet for basic data on report

2b.   Key sheet for the identification of fishermen

3.   Time frame for the survey

TABLES

3:1   Respondents' history of fishing

3:2   Use of different gear types

3:3   Combinations of two gear types

3:4   Number of hooks per handline

3:5   Reasons for fishing

3:6   First preference of fish species

3:7   Second preference of fish species

4:1   Frequency distribution of records per individual fisherman

4:2   Frequency distribution of number of days fished per week per individual fisherman during the two weeks prior to the interview

4:3   Fishing pressure from hook fishermen at Sebaboleng dam

4:4   Estimated average weight (g) per species and size class

4:5   Total catch per fisherman for 2 - week periods and catch per hour

4:6   Total estimated catch (kg.) from the hook and line fishery at Sebaboleng dam

FIGURES

3:1   Main economic activity of respondents

3:2   Age structure of respondents

3:3   Gear types used

3:4   Frequency of fishing

4:1   Comparison of reported length of fishing session (hr.)

4:2   Catch per unit of effort (g), averages and 95% confidence intervals

4:3   Species composition (number of fish caught)

MAP

1.   Sebaboleng Dam and neighbourhoods