#ichthyofauna

The first fish inventory of the Fresco lagoon (Côte d’Ivoire, West Africa) took place from August 2018 to July 2019. Overall, 134590 specimens comprising 21 orders, 37 families, 57 genera, 75 species and 8 ecological categories were recorded. The ichthyological fauna is largely dominated by Cichlidae, the ecological category of strict estuarine forms and the species Sarotherodon melanotheron. The dominance of these taxa is reflected in low Shannon diversity and Pielou’s evenness indices. The closure of the pass during the long dry season induces a significant variation between the fish assemblages of the two long seasons. Our catches increased after the opening of the pass at the beginning of the long rainy season.

Biodiversity is of key importance in the sustainability of an ecosystem. It correlates with the physiological changes in animals and environmental factors that fluctuate in a geographic region. Therefore, the current research work was performed to study the biodiversity and distribution of fish of Qadam Khaila Stream and Muhajar Camp Stream at Dargai, District Malakand Pakistan, from May-August 2016. The sample collection was conducted twice a month using different types of fishing net like rods, hooks, scoop net, drag net, hand nets, etc. The fish samples were identified by studying various morphometric measurements and meristic counts. A total of 10 species were identified i.e. Barilius pakistanicus, Crossocheilus diplocheilus, Schizothorax labiatus, Puntius chola, Devario devario, Acanthocobitis botia, Schistura curtistigma, Channa punctata, Channa gachua and Mastacembelus armatus. All these species belonging to three orders; Cypriniformes, Channiformes and Mastacembeliformes and four families; Cyprinidae, Nemacheilidae, Channidae and Mastacembelidae. Cyprinidae was the most dominant family represented by five species viz. Barilius pakistanicus, Crossocheilus diplocheilus, Puntius chola, Schizothorax labiatus and Devario devario. Nemacheilidae and Channidae comprised two species each while Mastacembelidae by only one species only. Hence, it is concluded that these streams harbour rich diversity of fish which elucidate the suitability of these water bodies for the maintenance of biodiversity. Hence, culturing and conservation of fish species in the respective area could improve the economic status of the people.

Fishing provides the main source of dietary protein and is a resilient economic activity that influences fish stocks in the Aby lagoon. It led to an initial collapse and is now in a critical situation, generating conflicts. Decision-making to control this situation requires real data. Thus, surveys on fishermen’s activity and landings were conducted to elucidate the factors of production and production in this study. The results show that the majority of national actors (80.30% of this population) are 71.08% educated. Adults aged 30 to 45 (49.67%) dominate this group of actors, most of whom are married (80.69%) and classified as occasional fishermen (49.46%). These fishermen, 49.56% of whom combine fishing with other activities, use gillnets, traps, bamboo traps, longlines, cast nets, purse seines and acadjas as fishing gear. The total fishing effort calculated for the Aby lagoon is 20,129 trips with the highest effort recorded in Adiaké (48%) and lowest in Ettuéboué (19 %). Total annual production amounted to 2,105.394 Kg highest in Assinie-Mafia (34.85 %) and lowest in Adiaké (31.72%). The total catch per unit effort is 237.80 kg/trip, highest in Assinie-Mafia (53.39 %) and lowest in Adiaké (17.90 %).