The fisheries in
the Volta
and Niger basins
Cali fisheries Feb 2008

Inland Delta
Middle Niger
Upper Niger
Lower Niger
The Niger major sub-basins
Cali fisheries Feb 2008

Fisheries in the Niger basin
Inner delta :
20 000 km2
90 000 to 45 000 tonnes/year with rainfall change
1500 m3/S mean discharge to 750 m3/s with rainfall change
Total basin
300 000 tonnes/year, increasing since 1995 with rainfall
Cali fisheries Feb 2008

The Volta basin
Cali fisheries Feb 2008

The Volta basin, ,
with its seasonnally
dry rivers
Cali fisheries Feb 2008

Lake Volta :
a major component of
the aquatic system
8500 km2,
about 140 km3 (three years
residence time),
and uncertainty about
the fisheries production
Circa 70 000 fishermen
Fishing = diversification
from MODIS data base
Cali fisheries Feb 2008

Fisheries Lake Volta, present state (1998) (from Braimah, 2000)
1232 fishing villages
71861 fishermen depending on fishing for livelihood ( full time ?)
gillnets 98.7 %, hookand line 62 %, cast net 46 %, winch (purse seine) 9.
No canoe owner has more than 1 large canoe.
outboard engines : 973 in 308 villages
fishing days/week = 6 to 7, but 50 festival days /year.
In stratum 7, 13 % of the catch is consumed locally.
Winch nets : 447
atigyas : 3500
bamboos : 4,180,630
beach seines : 10895
cast nets : 8972
gillnets : 998,250
hooks : 7,915,170
nifa nifa : 5700
traps : 338,667
winch nets : 447
wangara : 6046
Cali fisheries Feb 2008

Cali fisheries Feb 2008 Bamboo traps for Chrysichthys, Lake Volta

Gillnets, Lake Volta
Cali fisheries Feb 2008

Cali fisheries Feb 2008
Fish traps, Lake Volta

60 000 Reference
scenario
50 000 Wetter scenario
40 000 Drier scenario
30 000
20 000
10 000
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22
Year of simulation
Inflows to Akosombo as simulated by WEAP in the three scenarios.
The main variability remains dependent on the year to year rainfall
variations.
Cali fisheries Feb 2008

Fisheries in the Volta basin
Kompienga,
15 000 ha, 1350 tonnes/y 90 kg/ha/y
Bagré,
18 000 ha, 1200 tonnes/y, 700 fishermen + aids
66 kg/ha/y
Cali fisheries Feb 2008

Cali fisheries Feb 2008

Five Mali traps, part of the gear of a small fisherman
Cali fisheries Feb 2008

The poor in the Volta basin ( two first quintiles)
in the different activities
Same description for all three activities :
- lack of production means,
= lack of productivity per person
involved
- vulnerability (no safety net)
- need for emigration (short or long)
- little credit available or accessible
(from sustainable livelihood profiles)
Cali fisheries Feb 2008

A typical mid-size canoe,
With a crew of two men
on Lake Volta
Cali fisheries Feb 2008

The fisheries
Where,
- in large lakes : Volta, Bagré, Kompienga; Selingué, Kainji, Lagdo
- in smaller reservoirs
- in flood plains or “ lit majeur”: Niger Inner delta, upper Niger,
- in the rivers
The fisheries ecosystem : up and downstream as well as lateral
Components
By whom,
Local or traditional ethnic groups
Needs man ( or boy) power: hiring children labour for gillnets, beach seines and
winchnets.
Cali fisheries Feb 2008

Other modes of fish production
- advanced fishculture (Lake Volta)
- small scale fish culture (cooperative ?)
(Nigeria)
Cali fisheries Feb 2008

Lake Volta PN 34 cage experiment, March 2007
Cali fisheries Feb 2008

Smoking fish, a women activity
Cali fisheries Feb 2008

CP projects on fisheries in the basins
- Ongoing PN 34 on Lake Volta
Redirected to cage culture with a socio
economic survey
- Starting PN 72 on the Niger
Participatory diagnosis and adaptive management of
small-scale fisheries in the Niger River Basin.
Brief Title: Improving resilience in small-scale fisheries.
Cali fisheries Feb 2008

Cali fisheries Feb 2008

Thank you
Cali fisheries Feb 2008