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

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Migrating Labeo spp. make up 10% of all recorded
catches. This level is probably much higher when one
includes catches during annual migrations. The
commercial importance of these fish presents a case for
controlling the fishing effort during their migration in
November.
Within the forest streams, large breeding migrations
of four species were recorded between October and
December. The most common was migration of Labeo
batesii, Hemigrammopetersius brevidorsalis, and Barbus
sp. Similar migration of L. batesii have been reported in
streams of nearby Okwangwo Division of Cross River
National Park at the villages of Bemi, Okwa I, Okwa II,
and Kanyang (King 1997). Large-scale fish migrations of
Labeo coubie were also reported by Simon (1998) for the
same area of the national park.
4.7 Fish Species Caught
About 40% of the adult populations (above 15 years in
age) in the villages fish, mostly for home consumption.
Fish that are sold are either fresh (50%) or smoked
(50%). Figure 2 shows the main fish groups harvested
using various fishing gear. Fishermen stated that cichlids
dominate in their catch followed by predatory
Hydrocynus sp. and Hepsetus sp. The Clariidae—for
example, Clarias, Mochokidae, and Bagridae—are also
abundant. Popular fish for consumption in the area are
Tilapia, Crow–crow nose, Mbanga, Mudfish, Dog fish,
and Snake fish (see Appendix 1 for common and specific
names).
It is interesting that predators such as Hydrocynus
vittatus, Hydrocynus brevis, and Hepsetus odoe figure
behind prey fish such as cichlids in the catch. This may
indicate an abundance of prey species and perhaps a
healthy fishery. The presence of flooded forest banks
undoubtedly assists predators, providing “lay in wait and
stealth” habitat for effective predation.
Snake fish (Mastacembelidae) are also high on the
list of species captured, possibly because they are easy to
catch and therefore frequently mentioned. Not
surprisingly, the Siluriformes (Clarias sp. and Barbus
sp.), ideally suited to the riverine/stream environment
Takamanda: the Biodiversity of an African Rainforest
and able to withstand low levels of oxygen in flooded
areas, were also on the list, in fourth and fifth places.
Bagridae and Mochokidae were also represented.
4.8 Estimate of Fish Production
Extrapolating the sample to the total number of fisherfolk
in the survey area and multiplying by the CpUE recorded
from Bache and Kajifu villages and activity data from the
individual questionnaire survey resulted in a yield
estimate of 106.3 tons for November (Table 3). The
methodology used here is a standard practice for
determination of fish yields in African rivers (Welcome
1976). It is likely that annual yields may differ from that
obtained through simple multiplication by 12 months,
given the varying levels of activity and CpUE expected
during the dry season. Levels of monthly activity
obtained from the questionnaire survey were multiplied
by the November CpUE (assumed constant) to more
accurately project the annual yield and to give an idea of
the expected monthly variation (Figure 3). The result was
an estimated annual yield of 1,056 ton, worth
approximately FCFA 400 million, or about $700,000.
4.9 Fish Biodiversity
Mdaihli et al.
In the southern sector of TFR along the Munaya River,
some 54 fish species belonging to 22 families have been
recorded to date (Appendix 1). While not exhaustive, this
list compares favorably with that of the Okwangwo
Division of the Cross River National Park, whose
tributaries also partly drain the greater portion of the
study area. For the Okwangwo Division, King (1997)
recorded 31 species representing 6 orders and 9 families.
Several of the 90 species from the upper Cross River
(Reid 1989) were confirmed as endemics, including
Tetraodon pustulatus, Gobiocichla trewavasae,
Afromastacembelus sexdecimspinus, and a new species
of Leptocypris.
Literature on the fishery in the region is almost solely
centered on checklists and descriptions of fish species,
with little emphasis on the overall fishery (Moses 1981,
1987; Reid 1989; Schliewen 1996; King 1997; Simon
1998). Teugels et al. (1992) provides the most