TITLE:
Ichthyofaunic Inventory and Fish Landings of Lom Pangar Hydropower Dam Reservoir in the Eastern Region of Cameroon
AUTHORS:
Achille Njomoue Pandong, Bruno Thierry Nyatchouba Nsangue, Ekmon Mbangue, N’Souvi Kodjo, Maurice Vanlie Kontchou, Asser Yoke, Léopold Tcham, Dieudonné Essola, Micah Adekunle David
KEYWORDS:
Artisanal Fishing Gears, Ictyofaunal Inventory, Lom Pangar Hydropower Dam
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Marine Science,
Vol.10 No.4,
October
19,
2020
ABSTRACT: The Lom Pangar hydroelectric dam project
located in the eastern region of Cameroon was implemented by Electricity
Development Corporation (EDC). The impoundment of the Lom Pangar dam created a
large reservoir with an area ~590 km2 and a useful storage capacity ~6 billion
m3. Thereby, this impoundment has created favourable conditions for the
proliferation of fishery resources. However, a fisheries assessment study based
on fishing activities is essential to attain reliable information for
implementing a management plan to achieve rational and sustainable
exploitation. This study was carried out on the ichtyofaunic inventory and the
assessment of fish landings in Lom Pangar hydroelectric dam reservoir from
April 2016 to September 30, 2016. Three main groups of fishing gear have been
identified, among which gillnets, traps and longlines occupy major fishing
activities. Indeed, the spatial and landing sites surveies were conducted on
species composition, size composition, and quantities of fish landed during the
study period. Moreover, 37 species of fish divided into 16 families were found
in seven different selected fish landing sites. Carp (Cyprinus carpio) was the
major fish species abundantly caught by these fishing gears which accounted for
81.60% of the total catch, and the least species was sardine (Sardinella
aurita). A total of 623,229 Kg of fish were landed which were dominated by
those of the Wami landing site with 480,773 Kg representing 76.96% of the total
landed catches. The smallest species caught was the white carp (7 cm) while
the longest one was the catfish (71 cm). In addition, the species of fish in the
breeding season are carp, catfish, viper fish and red tail.