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Challenges in fisheries management in the Z ambezi, one of the great rivers of Africa
Author(s) -
Tweddle D.,
Cowx I. G.,
Peel R. A.,
Weyl O. L. F.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
fisheries management and ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.693
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1365-2400
pISSN - 0969-997X
DOI - 10.1111/fme.12107
Subject(s) - fishing , fishery , livelihood , geography , fisheries management , population , restructuring , habitat , fish <actinopterygii> , ecology , business , agriculture , biology , demography , archaeology , finance , sociology
Almost all fisheries in the Zambezi River system have experienced severe declines in catch rates, loss of larger, most valuable fish species, and increased use of environmentally damaging active fishing gears. The fisheries of the Barotse, Caprivi and Kafue floodplains, and lakes Kariba (Zambian sector), Malawi and Malombe are all fished down. The concept of balanced harvesting with moderate effort has no relevance to these African inland fisheries, where rapid human population growth and lack of alternative livelihoods for small‐scale fishers means they have no choice but to continue fishing despite dwindling returns. In some areas, e.g. Liuwa Plain National Park in Zambia and conservancies in Namibia, comanagement with local communities has potential for success, but other fisheries, e.g. Lake Malombe in Malawi, are so severely fished down that there is no prospect of recovery without radical restructuring of exploitation patterns coupled with habitat restoration.