Challenges in fisheries management in the Zambezi, one of the great rivers of Africa

Tweddle, D.; Cowx, I. G.; Peel, R. A.; Weyl, O. L. F.

Abstract

© 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. 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.

Citation

Tweddle, D., Cowx, I. G., Peel, R. A., & Weyl, O. L. F. (2015). Challenges in fisheries management in the Zambezi, one of the great rivers of Africa. Fisheries Management and Ecology, 22(1), 99-111. https://doi.org/10.1111/fme.12107

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 1, 2015
• Online Publication Date: Jan 27, 2015
• Publication Date: 2015-02
• Deposit Date: Oct 29, 2018
• Journal: Fisheries Management and Ecology
• Print ISSN: 0969-997x
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 22
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 99-111
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/fme.12107
• Keywords: African fisheries; Comanagement; Cpue; Fisheries exploitation; Floodplains; Lakes
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/529331
• Publisher URL: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/fme.12107