Fishing and Farming in Lake Chad: Implications for Fisheries Development

Abstract

In the history of fisheries development worldwide, 1982 was a turning point, with the 200-mile economic exclusion zones set up by the UN Conference on the Law of the Sea providing the basis for the coastal nations of the South to manage and develop their marine fisheries, and the World Bank's review of the failures of earlier investments and proposal of a new strategy for future development (see Table 1 and Sfier-Younis and Donaldson, 1982;World Bank, 1984). However, in the 1990s the failures were still at the forefront of the debate and fundamental choices in the ethics and politics of fisheries development were called for (Bailey and Jentoft, 1990).For much of the post-World War II era, the fundamental debate has concerned the trade-off between technical advances in methods for catching fish and the sustainability of fish populations. Attempts to overcome perceived technical constraints by providing fishing equipment on credit were followed by investments in stock management and training. These were accompanied by concern to remedy the 'tragedy' of open access fisheries. Small-scale artisanal fishers are a recent focus of attention and many hopes currently centre on the potential for aquaculture development. Despite changing opinions, the debate has only rarely strayed inland where fish production can make an important contribution to regional diets. 1 Although pleas have been made for recognition of the special characteristics of fishery resources, policy recommendations devote minimal attention to the fisher-farmers of inland fisheries.This article examines the rural economy of the extreme north-east of Nigeria and the implications of the results of socio-economic research in fishing villages

Seasonal Migration and Settlement around Lake Chad: Strategies for Control of Resources in an Increasingly Drying Lake

“…These include the lake water and its tributaries used for consumption; grasses around the lake shores and intertidal zones used as fodder, as well as raw materials for handicraft industries. Fish remain the key economic resource and is a source of protein for millions of people that depend on it [1][2][3]. The lake is also an important economic resource for the Sahelian population in the four countries that surround it.…”

Fishing and farming at Lake Chad: Institutions for access to natural resources

“…The study area included the eight sub-districts from Baga southwards along the lake shore whose heads, or Lawans, estimated the population of the lake shore villages from their knowledge of the taxes collected from these villages (see Figure 1). Previous analyses of the survey findings revealed that many of these households were small, young and had arrived at their current location recently (Sarch, 1996(Sarch, , 1997. The majority (59%) earned three-quarters of their income from farming, a significant proportion (36%) earned income from a combination of fishing and farming and few (5%) households relied entirely on fishing income.…”

A Baseline Study for Cadmium Concentrations in Blood of Goats in Some Communities of Bade, Northern Yobe, Nigeria

“…The actual cause of the disease is not known yet and its epidemiology remains poorly understood most probably due to poor health facilities and lack of qualitative health records [2]. The area is located within Komadugu Yobe Basin (KYB) and its, significantly agrarian, population heavily depend on River Yobe as source of livelihoods [3]. Fishery, livestock, irrigation and rain-fed farming practices are their major agri-based activities throughout the year [4].…”