Laboratoire des Milieux Naturels et Conservation de la Biodiversité, UFR Biosciences, Université Félix-Houphouët-Boigny, 22 BP 582 Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
The actors and fishing gears on the Fresco lagoon (Côte d’Ivoire, West Africa) were studied from August 2018 to July 2019 by administering questionnaires to fishermen, interviewing them and observing them during their various activities. The fishing practiced on this lagoon is of the artisanal type. A total of 59 fishermen were surveyed, including 49 Ivorians (83.05% of all fishermen), with a predominance of Godiés (62.71%) and 10 Malians (16.95%), with a majority of Bozos (10.17%). All are male. Most of them are professionals (55.93%), adults (59.32%), have primary school education (49.15%), are married with family responsibilities (74.58%), have personally financed their activities (82%) and are Christians (71.19%). They are not united into cooperatives. Materials used include longlines, hawks, gillnets, wire traps and barrage nets. The density of fishermen is relatively low (2 to 4 fishermen/km2). Motorized pirogues, bamboo traps and ichthyotoxins are prohibited. Unfortunately, materials with mesh sizes below regulatory standards are used. These results constitute a database for an efficient management of the fisheries resources of the Fresco Lagoon.
The control of fishing parameters holds a prominent place in the strategy put in place by the managers of this sector in Ivorian waters. This work focuses on the description of seasonal variations in fish production parameters in the Potou lagoon. The data was collected from January 2020 to December 2021 in the Vitré station from surveys and analysis of fishermen's catches. The values of fishing effort, Catch per Unit of Effort and total production vary from season to season and from gear to gear. The total fishing effort is 9368 trips. It is higher (6576 trips) during the long dry season and lower (0 trips) in the short rainy season. Regarding the PUE values, they are higher (43.62 kg/trip) in the long dry season and lower (0 kg/trip) in the short rainy season. The highest catches are obtained in the long dry season with 274958.71 kg. Beach seines (231,524 kg or 35.90%) and gillnets (136,556 kg or 21.17% of total production) are the most efficient gears. The results of this work constitute a basic element for decision-making in the quest for a strategy for the sustainable management of fisheries resources in Côte d'Ivoire.