Fisheries in the Southern Border Zone of Takamanda - Impact ...

Fisheries Surveys
4.4 Fish Poisons
Two types of fish poison exist. The most dangerous is the
organo-chlorine insecticide Gammalin 20 (Reid 1989),
which are applied during low water (November-March).
Poisons from local plants are more widely used,
especially by women, and have been recorded as far back
as 1905 (Teugels et al. 1992). Traditional poisons include
Trephosia, a leaf tree (local name Tachinkot, Kachi), the
bark of the Piptadeniastrum africanum (a tree; Groves
and Maisels 1999), and two types of fruit—one of
Randia sp. (local names Ejibi, Kembu, Epum, and
Otchuwatumwa) and the other of Omphalocarpum
procerum.
Cameroon law now bans chemical poisons. There is
no prohibition on use of traditional poisons from local
plants, but herbal poisons are banned if classified under a
provision of Cameroon law that covers “all other
methods deemed to be destructive against fauna or
balance of the aquatic ecosystem.”
4.5 Fish Processing and Marketing
The only form of fish processing is hot smoking,
commonly referred to as “drying.” All excess fish are
smoked either for storage in the home or for sale to other
households or markets. The most common fish eaten by
village folk are fresh Clarias, Labeo, and tilapia. They
sell larger, higher-priced fish and retain smaller ones for
home consumption.
Every fishing household performs its own smoking.
This may appear to be a waste of firewood and effort,
especially given periodic, small catches. However, the
fish smoker is a simple structure made of a slatted shelf
(usually bamboo) placed above the kitchen fire. Because
the kitchen fire is always lit, there is adequate smoke for
curing.
Prior to smoking, the fish are de-scaled, and the
intestines and gills are removed. The fish is then washed
and, if smaller than 15 cm, placed flat on the smoking
shelf. If larger, a wood skewer is inserted through the
mouth to the tail so that the fish is bent circular. The
person who caught the fish is usually responsible for
preparing it, although this activity is sometimes shared
with other members of the household. Fish are smoked
for up to three days, then placed in covered rattan baskets
on a shelf about 2 m above the fire to remain dry.
There are few fish markets in the study area. Fish are
either consumed by the household (23% of surveyed
catches) or taken to other houses for sale (77%). Thus,
fish are an important source of protein and income.
The main market for fish is in the study area is
Mamfe; it is held every Saturday. A roadside market
exists along the Mamfe-Nyang road. Its stops include
Nyang (Wednesday), Mukonyong (Thursday), and
Eshobi (Friday). Only two fish stalls were seen in the
road market, and both sold smoked crayfish of very poor
quality. There are no fish markets west of the Mamfe-
Nyang road.
During the rainy season when this survey was
conducted, sea fish were sold mainly at Mamfe market,
which had 12 stalls selling salt-water fish compared to 8
selling freshwater fish. Fish sellers offered either
freshwater or salt-water fish, never a mix. There was no
price difference between the two. Salt-water fish came
from Limbe on the coast and included small stone heads,
mullets, barracuda, and shrimp. Women take most
freshwater fish to the Mamfe market and use the
proceeds from selling the fish to purchase household
items, although sometimes fish traders go to villages to
buy fish for market. Fish sold at Mamfe are used for local
consumption and not exported elsewhere.
4.6 Fish Breeding and Migration
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From October to December, fish breeding and migration
occur in the small streams draining the project area. This
period marks the time when hatchlings produced in the
preceding rainy season use the flooded streams as
breeding grounds before returning to the main rivers. It is
during the same period, fish fencing, traps, cast nets and
cross-over nets that cause high mortality to juvenile fish
are frequently operated.
SI/MAB Series #8, 2003