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The myths and realities in the management of the K apenta fishery at Lake Kariba ( Z imbabwe)
Author(s) -
Nyikahadzoi Kefasi,
Raakjær Jesper
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
lakes and reservoirs: research and management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.296
H-Index - 39
eISSN - 1440-1770
pISSN - 1320-5331
DOI - 10.1111/lre.12053
Subject(s) - fisheries management , fishing , fishery , stakeholder , business , fish stock , overfishing , stock (firearms) , maximum sustainable yield , resource (disambiguation) , distribution (mathematics) , natural resource economics , yield (engineering) , state (computer science) , environmental resource management , economics , geography , political science , law , computer network , mathematical analysis , mathematics , archaeology , algorithm , computer science , biology , materials science , metallurgy
Biological considerations have dominated the management of the Kapenta fishery since its inception. State fisheries' managers employed the traditional scientific models that proved useful in managing temperate fisheries. This study uses both secondary and primary data to discuss the problems of using scientific models to manage tropical river‐fed lakes. Where fish stock size fluctuates in response to environmental factors such as river flows and lake level (which influence the level of nutrients in the water body), the concepts of maximum sustainable yield ( MSY ) and maximum economic yield ( MEY ) become problematic. This study demonstrated that, in an unstable environment, and where the target species is resilient to high levels of fishing effort, biological models lose their predictive power, allowing the state to determine the proportion of the resource to be distributed among its nationals. The redistribution of access rights or fishing licences (as a way of redressing a legacy of an unequal distribution of resources between emerging local entrepreneurs and companies established during the colonial era) is a major management issue in Zimbabwe. This study uses historical appraisal to illustrate how biological growth models failed to determine the optimal level of fishery exploitation upon which informed decisions could be made regarding whether to redistribute fish access rights or to broaden participation (or just recruit more fishers into the industry). This study also investigates tensions between the industry (advocating for broadening of access) and the state (seeking to redistribute existing resource use rights). Each stakeholder group has evoked institutions and discourses supporting their positions in influencing the strategies to eliminate the existing imbalances.