2. THE ZIMBABWE RESTOCKING PROGRAMME

2.1 OBJECTIVES

Under normal conditions, the Government of Zimbabwe has the infrastructure and the means to stock fish in a small number of dams each year. During the drought, a large number of dams dried up and the Government did not have the means to react quickly to this unusual situation. The communal areas with the highest concentration of dams (Figure 3) were the areas most affected by the drought (Table 4). Because of the importance of restocking of reservoirs, Agritex requested from FAO's Office for Special Relief Operations (OSRO) assistance for an extensive restocking programme. The main objective of this programme was to restore drought-affected water bodies in communal areas to full fisheries potential by stocking the more preferred and productive species.

2.2 GEOGRAPHICAL SCOPE

The restocking programme covered the whole country, but initially concentrated on the dams in the communal areas. Dams that had dried up in the resettlement areas and the small-scale commercial areas were stocked during the second season. Dams in the large-scale commercial areas were only stocked in a few exceptional cases.

Stocking of individually owned fish ponds in areas where most ponds dried up was envisaged for the last stage of the programme.

2.3 PLANNING

The planning of the programme went through of four different stages:

• A one-day workshop.

• Identification of the affected dams.

• Identification of sources of fish.

• Practical arrangements.

2.3.1 The Workshop

During the one-day workshop, representatives of all organizations and departments involved in fisheries in Zimbabwe were invited to discuss the restocking programme. These included DNPWM, Agritex, Department of Research and Special Services (DRSS), the University of Zimbabwe, FAO, the FAO regional Aquaculture for Local Community Development (ALCOM) Programme, and representatives of the sports fishing associations.

The question of what fish species to stock was discussed. Although different groups had different opinions, it was emphasized that the objective of the programme was to restore the production of fish for consumption in the communal areas. Therefore species with a short food chain were preferred. Predators thriving on a long food chain would diminish the reservoir productivity due to greater loss of energy. Introduction of predators to control the excessive reproduction of some species was considered to avoid stunting of the population. However, in the rural areas of Zimbabwe, the juveniles are heavily fished and a population dominated by small fish is not considered a problem by local people.

On species selection, it was concluded that all indigenous cichlids should be used, except for S. robustus, as it is a cichlid predator that easily dominates fish populations in small dams. For most of the other cichlids, it was concluded that availability of fish for restocking was more important than aiming for specific species compositions. Barbus spp. and C. gariepinus were not considered target species as they enter dams naturally more easily than other species, were not the species most desired by most local consumers (C. gariepinus), or were very difficult to transport (the smaller Barbus species). The species of the Mormyridae family, the larger Labeo species and Synodontis spp. were also not selected because they thrive better in larger rivers, and large reservoirs in large river systems, and not so well in smaller reservoirs. Good sources of these species were also difficult to find.

Stocking a limited number of dams with C. carpio, O. niloticus and Sargochromis codringtonii for special study purposes was also proposed. C. carpio was expected to produce better yields in higher altitude areas, since it is more adapted to lower temperatures than the indigenous cichlids. O. niloticus is being introduced into private dams by many farmers because it is expected to produce more than the local Oreochromis spp. Information on the production potential of these two species under local reservoir conditions would make it easier to decide whether or not to allow these introductions on a larger scale. S. codringtonii is a local, snail-eating cichlid, and stocking this species in small reservoirs might demonstrate its efficiency or otherwise in controlling the spread of schistosomiasis.

2.3.2 Identification of drought-affected dams

Agritex has technical staff at National, Provincial and District levels, and Agricultural Extension Workers (AEWs) at Ward level. Through this system, Agritex keeps well informed about the agricultural situation in every ward. It was through the Agritex system that the restocking programme received information on dried-up dams in the country. The AEWs sent the information about dried-up dams in their wards through the District Offices to the Agritex Fisheries Unit in Harare.

The total number of dams that dried up during the drought reported through this system was 1355. The location of these dried dams is given in Figure 5.

Figure 5. Location of dams reported as having dried up (Source: Fisheries Unit, Agritex)

2.3.3 Identification of sources of fish

There were three possible sources of fish for the restocking programme:

• Natural fish stocks in dams that did not dry out.

• Government fish farms of DNPWM and DRSS.

• Private fish farmers.

The Government and the private farms were seriously affected by the drought and only limited amounts of fish could be expected from these sources. Therefore the best source of fish was the dams that did not dry out and that had good fish stocks.

Stocks of C. carpio and O. niloticus were identified on private farms, and S. codringtonii had to be caught in Lake Kariba.

2.3.4 Practical arrangements

A large number of dispersed dams had to be restocked. The dispersed location of the dams made it necessary to identify a source of fish in each area, and stock the fish from there. Mobile restocking teams that caught the fish and transported them directly to the dams in the area was considered to be the best solution, rather than operating from a central site whence the fish would have to be transported long distances.

2.4 ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED

The restocking project (OSRO/ZIM/202/SWE) was funded by Sweden through OSRO and executed by FAO through Agritex. The FAO budget ($US 270 000 in all) covered the cost of all the equipment and the operational expenses for two seasons. The ongoing UNDP/FAO project ZIM/88/021, Support for rural aquaculture extension, gave technical assistance to the restocking project during its preparation and the first season of operation.

The planning, supervision and coordination of the restocking exercise in the field were all the responsibility of Agritex. The Agritex field service in each District made up the timetables for the restocking programme in their areas, identified the dried-up dams, the sources of fish, and allocated staff familiar with the area to assist the restocking teams. Agritex allocated three full time AEWs as team leaders and three fisheries assistants for the restocking teams. DNPWM allocated a driver. The involvement of the different organizations is summarized in Table 5.

Table 5. Involvement of different organizations in the restocking programme