dc.description.abstract |
This study was conducted from July 2010 to June 2011 to assess the status of motorized
commercial gillnet fishery of the three commercially important fishes in Lake Tana and
to compare it with the previous findings. Total weight of three taxa (Labeobarbus spp.,
Oreochromis niloticus, Clarias gariepinus) caught by the motorized boats of the
commercial fishery in Lake Tana were taken every day and additional data on number of
gillnets used, mesh size, location of fishing grounds and unsold fish, being discarded or
used for own consumption were collected. Data on the Labeobarbus species composition
of the commercial gillnet fishery with maximum of 200 specimens were collected every
month in the first three consecutive days for a year. The total fish yield from the main
fishing grounds of the commercial fishery was 238 metric tons/year. In the present study,
the catch of tilapia ( 0. niloticus) in Lake was by far higher than that of Labeobarbus and
catfish (C. gariepinus) with a proportion of 71 %, 11 % and 18%, respectively. Peak
production season lied between March and May 2011. The total number of gillnets set
and boat trips made were 85,943 and 3104, respectively which is by far higher than the
previous studies of Lake Tana commercial fishery. The Catch per Unit effort (CpUE;
kg/trip) of the 2010/2011 production year was 64.7 ± 3 at 95% CI. The vast majority of
the fishing effort (80% of the effort) was allocated to the North Eastern Floodplain
(NEFP). Labeobarbus CpUE was found to be 6.11 kg/trip in 2010/2011, which is by far
lower than the previous reports. Clarias garipienus CpUE was 7.8 kg/trip, which showed
a decreasing tendency from the previous studies. The same was for 0. niloticus CpUE
which was 42.21 kg/trip. An integrated management plan and research program for the
Lake Tana basin is urgently required to prevent the collapse of an important fishery and
the extinction of the only known cyprinid species flock in the world. |
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