Application of biotelemetry to fish studies for inland fishery management in West Africa
Pilot workshop in Sélingué (Mali), 28 January - 10 February 2001
Marine and freshwater aquatic resources, especially fish, have been exploited for hundreds of years by inland fisheries, especially in tropical regions where fish consumption may reach 500 g per inhabitant per day. The spectacular increase in the human population of the intertropical regions has been accompanied by a growing intensification of fishing and increasingly obvious environment changes in terms of chemical or organicpollution, or hydrological changes following the building of dams used essentially to produce hydroelectric energy. These changes are understandable and contribute to the economic development of intertropical regions, but they have interfered with ecological processes, especially with fish requirements in terms of habitat and migration. They have had or are going to have an impact on inland fisheries and on food security, not to mention the consequences for the biodiversity of non-exploited species. This objective assessment shows that there is an urgent need to collect accurate data on ecology and fish behaviour, in natural as well as in modified environments. Such data are essential for the integrated management of natural resources, combining biodiversity preservation, efficient fishery management and sustainable activities and livelihoods.
Among the techniques and methodologies that can be applied, biotelemetry is particularly interesting because of the accuracy of the data collected and the speed at which it can be done. The term biotelemetry covers a variety of tools and methodologies (radio and acoustic tracking) which allow the collection of data on fish bio-ecology (home range, habitat use, seasonal and daily migrations). Such data, which are crucial to understanding the biology of fish, to preserving their biodiversity and to managing inland fisheries, are more difficult to obtain with conventional observation and sampling techniques and methods whose efficiency depends on environmental conditions.
Some 1 500 studies, based on telemetry techniques, have been carried out in Europe, North America, Australia and Eastern Asia. In comparison, the total number of studies in tropical freshwaters remains very low, despite the importance of inland fisheries and the relatively favorable environmental conditions to undertake such studies. The relative scarcity of such studies, despite their obvious interest and the crucial information they can provide, originates from the poor knowledge of these technologies, and their reputation for being expensive and in particular complex - the more so because the scientific and technical training that would allow them to be demystified is rare or does not exist. In the context of sustainable development, it is thus imperative to put these techniques and this theoretical and practical knowledge at the disposal of researchers in tropical regions and in other interested developing countries, so that they can use them in an optimal way.
This pilot workshop, which is being organized in Sélingué, Mali from 28 January to 10 February 2001, focuses on areas such as education, and assistance to research, management and development. It will be attended by eight trainees from French-speaking African countries who are interested in developing short or medium term research programmes concerned with optimizing the management of inland aquatic resources and which cannot be undertaken without mastering “the telemetry tool”.
In Mali, host country for this pilot workshop, the exploitation of fish resources is of great importance. Fish production exceeds 100 000 tonnes per year and represents one of the main income sources for the country. The Directorate of the Malian Institute of Rural Economy (IER) has agreed to co-host the workshop in collaboration with the Office for Rural Development of Sélingué (ODRS). The ODRS management offered the use of its infrastructure in Sélingué. IRD, ULg and FAO will contribute, in terms of financial and human resources, to the organization of this pilot workshop. The workshop will alternate between theoretical and practical aspects, from project development to data analysis and formulating recommendations for research programmes on resource management (cf. Agenda).
After the workshop, the projects developed by the trainees will be monitored by the organizers in order to disseminate these activities and to maintain a fruitful relationship between partners. The workshop and the activities that will directly or indirectly originate from it could lead on to a discussion workshop during the “4th Conference on Fish Telemetry in Europe” where the advantages of the approach adopted by, and any problems encountered in, the pilot workshop can be discussed. Finally, it may be possible to organize this type of workshop in other regions of the world that wish to benefit from this kind of training (Asia, Latin America, English speaking African countries, Eastern Europe).
