The Inland Fisheries of Africa

CIFA Occasional Paper No. 7 CIFA/OP 7

THE INLAND FISHERIES OF AFRICA

compiled by

R.L. Welcomme
Senior Fishery Resources Officer
Fishery Resources and Environment Division
FAO, Rome

FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS
Rome 1979

The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

The copyright in this book is vested in the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, by any method or process, without written permission from the copyright holder. Applications for such permission, with a statement of the purpose and extent of the reproduction desired, should be addressed to the Director, Publications Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Via delle Terme di Caracalla, 00100 Rome, Italy.

PREPARATION OF THIS DOCUMENT

A brief review of the current status of the inland fisheries of Africa was presented as document CIFA/72/8 to the First Session of CIFA (N'Djamena, 1972). This was revised as document CIFA/75/Inf. 6 for presentation to the Second Session (Accra, 1975). Since then more information has been included to produce an expanded document on the inland fisheries of Africa. This document is intended for circulation and approval by the relevant authorities in the various African states after which it will be finalized to form part of the FAO series on World Appraisal of Inland Fisheries.

Distribution	Bibliographic Entry
FAO Fisheries Department FAO Regional Fishery Officers Directors of Inland Fisheries in Africa	Welcomme, R.L. (Comp.) (1979) CIFA Occas.Pap., (7): 69 p. The inland fisheries of Africa Inland fisheries. Hydrology. Fish catch statistics. Freshwater fish. Yield. Yield predictions. Africa.

COMMITTEE FOR INLAND FISHERIES OF AFRICA (CIFA)

CIFA documents are issued in three series:

CIFA Report

Report of each session, in English and French.

CIFA Technical Papers

Selected scientific and technical papers, including some of those contributed as working documents to sessions of the Committee and reports of subcommittees, working parties study groups and correspondence networks. Published in English and French.

CIFA Occasional Papers

Papers of general interest to the Committee. Published in the language submitted, either in English or French.

Copies of these documents can be obtained from:

Secretary
Committee for Inland Fisheries of Africa
Department of Fisheries
FAO
Via delle Terme di Caracalla
00100 Rome, Italy

PAPERS ISSUED IN THIS SERIES

CIFA/OP1	The relationship of yield to morpho-edaphic index and numbers of fishermen in African inland fisheries. Relation entre la production, l'indice morpho-édaphique et le nombre de pêcheurs des pêcheries des eaux continentales d'Afrique (1974).
CIFA/OP3	Some general and theoretical considerations on the fish production of African rivers. Quelques considérations générales et théoriques sur la production halieutique des cours d'eau africains (1974).
CIFA/OP2	Manuel de construction artisanale d'embarcations. Handbook of artisanal boatbuilding (1975).
CIFA/OP4	Report of the consultation on fisheries problems in the Sahelian zone (1975). (Distribution restricted)
CIFA/OP5	A bibliography of African freshwater fish. Bibliographie des poissons d'eau douce de l'Afrique (Suppl. 1 - 1968 – 1975).
CIFA/OP6	Bibliography of fisheries and limnology for Lake Tanganyika. Bibliographie sur les pêches et la limnologie du Lac Tanganyika (1978).
CIFA/OP7	The inland fisheries of Africa (1979). (Distribution restricted)