Temperature - European Investment Bank

WEST AFRICAN POWER POOL (WAPP) PÖYRY ENERGY LTD.
Mount Coffee HPP ESIA and RAP 2012-09-18
ESIA Report Page 78
11.3.3.2 Fishing Practices: Gear, Seasonality, Amount, Post Harvest
Fishing activities are done all-year-round, with peaks in January-April. Women are
direct involved in fishing activities mostly in the middle of the dry season (February-
March), using hand nets and baskets in drying pools. Home consumption in fishermen
households is estimated at 25 %. Local fisheries consistently contribute to the
nutritional equilibrium of populations, with a strong presence of women in processing
and commercialization. Smoked fish constitutes 20% of sales on average, with higher
amount in upstream part of Mount Coffee (35%).
Fishing gear
Small wooden hand-made canoes capable of carrying a maximum of 3-4 people are
used at Mount Coffee. Gill nets (mesh size of 2.5 cm), casting nets, hooked lines, multihooks
lines, hoop nets, baskets, hand nets (with small size mesh lower than 1 cm for
catching tiny shrimps), river side fish traps, fences across water flow are the most
common gear. The state of the fisheries is currently not overexploited, even if training
in sustainable management is necessary to prevent destructive fishing gear (namely less
than 1 cm mesh net size for most women hand nets, as well as dynamite and chemicals).
Daily fishing schedule and amount
Daily agenda of the fisherman stands as follows: visiting fishing gear left the eve of the
day by 7.30 am and by 4.30 pm. Fish collection or catching may last from 1 to 3 hours
depending on the number of fishing gear. Fish caught is returned to the river bank or
house where they are directly sold or prepared for smoking or cooking, or better kept for
more distant market site, Bensonville being the most cited among fishermen.
Estimation of catches amounts
Highly fruitful fishing season lasts from October to March (dry season), with daily
capture per fisherman averaging 5 bunches, i.e. 7.5 kg for upstream fishers and 14 kg
downstream, for 5 days a week. In the rainy season (April to September), fish harvest
reduces to 2.5-4.5 bunches, i.e. 4-7 kg upstream and downstream, respectively, for
about 4 days per week given alternate occupations. Dry season lasts for 25 weeks, and
rainy season 27 weeks in the year. Total amount can thus be computed as follows:
Upstream, with Raymond Camp, Gate, Banee, Varnyi and Geeto Towns, total of
� 393 fishers x [(7.5 kg x 125 days) +(4.0 kg x 108 days)]= 538’214 kg
Downstream, Joseph Ricks, White Plains, Fofee and Zanna Towns, total of
� 173 fishers x [(14 kg x 125 days) + (7.0 kg x 108 days)]= 433’538 kg
Fishfarming, at Youth Camp by Geeto Town area, and isolated farmers,
� In total about 100 kg
Total current yearly fish production in Mount Coffee then amounts to 971’852 kg, i.e.
almost 972 tons.
Post harvest practices
80% of fish is sold fresh at riverside or market, at about 175 LD per bunch, i.e. 120
LD/kg, or smoked (20%) at equivalent fresh basis price. Post capture losses (rotten on
gears, or in the household, or through market chains rough or after transformation) are