FISHING IN AFRICA

Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping.

“Fishing” may include catching aquatic animals other than fish, such as molluscs, cephalopods, crustaceans, and echinoderms.

Major fishing grounds

The coastal areas like southwestern coast, west Africa, the northwestern coastal area and part of east Africa coast.

On lakes like lake Victoria, Tanganyika, Kyoga and Chad. Along rivers like Senegal, parts of river Nile and parts of River Congo.

Types of fish trapped.

Freshwater fish e.g. tilapia, Nile perch, dogga, lungfish, catfish.

Salty water fish e.g. Tuna, Cod, Mackerel, Sardines, and Barracuda.

Methods of fishing

Shallow waters, spear, baskets, hooks, gill nets, mild poisoning, damming. All these methods are used on a subsistence and traditional level except the gill nets. Gill netting is the most common and commercial method on shallow waters.

Deep waters Pursein, trawling, long lines, cast nets. On Lake Tanganyika, they use Lampara method.

FACTORS FAVOURING FISHING

-Availability of fish species.

-Presence of water bodies in form of rivers, lakes and oceans.

-Shallow continental shelf that is well oxygenated and also allows sunlight to penetrate through leading to the growth of plantation.

-There are cool ocean currents like Bunguela and Cannery which create cool conditions favorable for fish growth.

-The upwelling of cool and warm ocean currents like Bunguela and Gurnoa making the area well oxygenated favoring both plantation and fish growth

-Availability of manual labour

-In the inland water bodies especially the hippo wastes fertilize the soils for the water favoring plantation growth.

 MAJOR FISHING GROUNDS IN AFRICA

Problems faced in fishing

–Poor preservation methods sun drying, salting, smoking.

There is overfishing which exhausts fish species.

–Water hyacinth traps fishermen, suffocates the fish.

–Big fish eat small fish making these particular species extensions.

–Poor fishing methods which results in indiscriminate fishing.

–Poor transport during the rain season, transporting the fish is difficult. Most fishermen use bicycles to transport fish.

–Water pollution from industries which use water bodies as dumping goods for their waste products.

–Fish poisoning has made eating fish dangerous thus losing market.

–Poor fishing vessels.

–On coastal waters, there is over exploitation by foreigners especially the Japanese.

–The straight coast line makes it hard to create fishing ports.

–There are dangerous water animals which may knock over the boats and capsize them.

–There are rapids and falls in many rivers which make it hard to exploit fish in rivers.

-Competition for other fishing countries as most people prefer imported fish to their own.

-The fishing villages are in remote areas and have no social and economic facilities to improve fishing.

-There is poor and limited market.

-Limited capital.

-High temperatures cause easily rotting of fish.

LAKE TANGANYIKA

It is 1470m deep and below 100m. The water is deoxygenated making it impossible for marine life. The surface water is very clear and rich in plantation which over 250 species of fish.

But fishing is not carried out on a large scale because of transport problems.

LAKE VICTORIA AND KYOGA

There are shallow water bodies but with large scale fishing areas. There are many fishing grounds e.g. Kasenyi, Katusi and Kogungu.

WEST AFRICA FISHERIES

Fishing is important on the western coastal land and inland in countries like Mali, Senegal and Mauritania. They use both canoes and motorised vessels. Deep fishing is still in its infancy.

The deep-sea fishing vessels have freezing facilities and stay in the sea for weeks. The countries with the largest marine catches are Senegal, Mauritania, Ghana and Nigeria.

In Ghana, a large scale fishing industry grown up. Foreign vessels like those from France, Spain and Japan also exploit these coastal waters.

Lake Chad is also important and a fishing industry has also developed on the Volta and Kaigi rivers as well as river Niger.

 SOUTH AFRICAN FISHERIES

It’s important in Angola and Namibia with the coastlines is washed by the cool Benguela current increasing the exploitation growth.

Their fish types include rock laborers and pilchards. Some of the fish is processed into fish meal and oil which are exported. More than 7% of Angola’s exports come from this

Malawi is also important for fishing and lake Malawi has over 1000 fish species. Zaire also fishes a lot and fish farming is an important activity and the fish are fed on animal droppings until they mature

FISHING IN TEMPERATE AREAS

Therefore for major fishing areas of the world i.e. North Atlantic, South Atlantic, North Pacific and South pacific. In the temperate land, the important areas are in the North Atlantic and North pacific.

 North Atlantic regions:

It consists of the major fishing grounds in the world. It’s divided into northeast Atlantic and northwest Atlantic. There is more extensive fishing on the Northeast.

 Northeast Atlantic

It stretches from Norway in the north to Spain in the south. It also covers the British islands and the North Sea.

 Factors favoring fishing

-Abundance of plankton due to shallow continental shelf of about 180m deep.

-It has smooth ocean bottoms which favours use of the fishing methods e.g. trawlers.

-There are tide and currents which create the water favouring the growth of both plankton and fish.

-The warm North Atlantic drift current keeps the sea open even in winter because the water doesn’t freeze.

The rivers from the continent supply sea food for the fish.

-They have excellent markets because the populations are rich.

-They have many processing industries.

-They have modern and efficient methods of fishing and purseining.

-They have capital which enables them to purchase modern vessels and efficient fish equipments.

-They have efficient transport systems that transport the fish to the processing industries.

-It has indented coastline that favours the growth of fishing villages and ports.

-Aeration of water with waves and tides.

Types of fish include

-cod

-Helming

-Mackerel

-Starchier

-whales

NORWAY

About 60% of its adult population is engaged in commercial fishing. The most important fishing towns are Bergen, Stavanger and Trondheim.

Norway is overcrowded with limited cultivable land to this has forced many people to go to the sea providing an important employment industry fishing accounts for 10% of her exports.

The Norwegian ships also visit other areas e.g North Sea, Green land and Iceland

Factors responsible

-Limited cultivable land and the extensive wastelands which have forced them in to fishing.

–The long forded coastline with numerous ice lands providing sheltered water which are good for the fishing villages.

-The coastline in indented and therefore makes it easy to construct fishing villages and also promotes the growth of good breeding grounds.

–The North Atlantic drifts which makes the water ice-free in the winter.

-The shallow sheltered water are good breeding goods and also so shallow continental self allows the sunlight to penetrate favour in plantation growth.

–The inland rivers supply seafood to the oceanic waters.

–Smooth sea bottoms allow deep-sea fishing methods.

–Fishing markets within short distances from the large industrial countries e.g. France.

–It has along with sea fairing tradition of the people like the Viking of the Norsemen.

-It has along well established building industry based on the abundant forest.

-Has efficient transport network e.g. trucks that transport the fish to the processing industries.

-Availability of processing industries which are mostly found close to the fishing villages e.g. canning industries at scavenger and there are also large deep-freezing facilities at hammer fest.

-Availability of capital to purchase the required equipment.

-High levels of technology that enables usage of advanced methods.

-Political stability creating a conducive environment for the activity.

-Low temperatures that don’t allow bacterial growth therefore the fish doesn’t increase easily.

NORTHWEST ATLANTIC

It covers the Northeast of North America i.e is eastern part of Canada.

Factors favoring

-Several submarine elevations called banks that are located on the wide shallow continental shelf from southern New England to Newfound land e.g. Grand Banks and the John Banks.

-The shallow water of the banks about 100m deep permit light to penetrate to the ocean floor stimulating plankton growth.

-The water is well created by the cold Labrador Current and the upwelling of the current with the warm Gulf spring current increases aeration and therefore plankton and fish growth.

-The land tides renew the supply of oxygen required for adequate life.

-The coastline is identified providing numerous harbors for the fishing vessels.

-The ocean bottoms are smooth favoring the use of trawlers.

-There are advanced methods of fishing and preservation.

-The availability of capital that enables them to purchase better vessels and equipment as well as the establishment of processing industries.

-The availability of market from the rich population.

 Types of fish:

Include cod, haddock, herring and mackerel.

CANADIAN FISHERIES

It’s mostly dominated around the Newfound land area which includes the labrador coasts with scattered fish settlements and seeds are the dominant fish trapped.

There is also fishing in the lower areas of the Saint Lawrence especially the lobsters.

 USA FISHERIES

The New England use has a large modern vessel which is based highly organized fishing industry whose chief part is Boston.

There is also fishing in the central and southern coast as well as the Gulf region e.g. in Texas. Most of the work in the processing industry is done by region and this has increased unemployment opportunities.

 Problems faced:

–Freezing of the water during winter, fishing and therefore fisherman have other alternative activities which include reporting of nets, boats, going over records etc.

-Pollution for industrial boundaries wastes and also most of ships also act as a pollutant.

-Conflicts of territorial boundaries i.e. fishing grounds.

-Over fishing which has led to the exhaustion of some species.

-Competition from other fishing countries.

JAPAN

In fishing a pal industry accounts from about 15% of the worlds output. Fishing is carried out from Hokkisido, hyushult far west of Chinese and Korean waters. Whales, sardines, Tunas, Mackerels, crustaceans, shellfish and pearls are harvested.

Factors favouring

-Japan is located on a broad continental shelf which provides ideal conditions of the ground plankton.

-Japan coastline is identified with numerous bays and sheltered willets which provides good fishing sites from ports and villages.

-The meeting of the warm Kurosiwo for the cold Oga Siwe currents provides good conditions for plankton growth i.e. their up whelming aerates of water providing abundant oxygen, supply goo for pelagic for Demerol species.

-Japan is made of over 3000 highlands making it a traditional sea nation therefore people are encouraged to become fishermen.

-Limited agriculture due to markets nature of the highland leaves fishing as the next

NORTH PACIFIC FISHING GROUNDS

It’s dominated by Japan in the East and British Columbia in the West Japan has an outstanding fishery and its one of the world’s leading fishing nations.

Fish is one of the country’s major exports. The fish trapped include sadines, cod, salmons and crabs.

On the Western side fishing is carried out in California to Atlanta. The leading fishing parts are San Francisco and San Diego with large freezing and canning facilities. An oyster industry has developed in Oregon and Washington Bays. In British Columbia, Salmon is the most dominant fish.

NB:

Factors favoring fishing are almost similar to these in him worth west with just slight differences

SOUTH PACIFIC

-Peru has an identified coastline of 2000km with over 50 landing ports.

-Its washed by the cool percussion current which promotes plankton growth.

-It has a large market from countries like USA, Chinese and Europe.

-Due to high population in the city there is no labour shortage.

-They us advanced fishing methods.

-They have freezing facilities.

-Its easy to transport the fish to the coastal areas.

-Peru is one of the leading exports of a world’s fish oil and the leading exporters of the worlds’ fish meal.

Problems face:

-At its extreme the warm water from the oxygen flows (at the beginning of the year) and spread over the cod water causing the fish to migrate.

-Over fishing which has been solved by restricting the length of long fishing season and reducing foreign fleet in their territorial waters.

              –There is limited internal market.

–Faces competition with the more developed countries.

              –They have elimination of capital.

              –Reduction in ….(bird dropping) which has led to reduction plankton leads less fish growth.

              –Pollution of the water resulting in death of marine organisms including.

            –Invasion of the jellyfish which are killing off fish species

NORTHWEST ATLANTIC

It covers the N. America that is eastern part of Canada

Factors favoring

-Several submarine elevations called banks that are located on the wide shallow continental shelf from southern new England to Newfound land for example grand banks and the John Banks.

-The shallow water of the banks about 100m deep permit light to penetrate to the ocean flown stimulating plankton growth.

-The water is well aerated by the cold Labrador Current and the upwelling of the current plankton and fish growth.

-The land tides renew the supply of oxygen required for adequate life.

-The coastline is indebted providing numerous harbors for the fishing vessels.

-The ocean bottoms are smooth favoring the use of trawlers.

-There are advanced methods of fishing and preservation

-The availability of capital that enables them to purchase better vessels and equipment as well as the establishment of processing industries

-The availability of market from the rich population.

-Types of fish include the flowing; cod, haddock, herring and mackerel

CANADIAN FISHERIES

It is mostly dominated around the Newfound land area which includes the Labrador coasts with scattered fish settlements and are the determinant fish trapped. There is also fishing in the lower areas of the St, Lawrence especially lobsters.

 USA FISHERIES

The New England fisheries use has large modern vessels which are based on the highly organized fishing industry whose chief part is Boston. There is also fishing in the central

 To fix

5. The TVA has controlled the phenomenon of flooding because the numerous dams and locks regulate to the flow of the river and its tributary streams and therefore minimize flooding.
6. The re-forestation programmes have led to the development of vast man made forests which are basis of the local furniture marts industry.
7. The material S.O.L of the locals were uplift led because ten state became accessible, productive and therefore served with socio-economic amenities which improved their S.O.L
8. A string of industrial complexes have sprang up such as those processing agriculture raw materials, iron and steel industries producing farm implements and machinery for others.

9. Modern techniques of managing land were adapted to substitute of traditional ways of cultivating land. There is for instance those of soil additives like fertilizers, there is contour ploughing, terrace and so on which have improved and maintained the productivity and fertility of soils.
10. Contour ploughing;

Steep slopes of the lower Appalachians were cultivated using contour ploughing in order to min incident of erosion associated with down slopes cultivation.

Terracing;

A series of man made flat steeps were constructed on the lower slopes of the Appalachians and there helped to enable cultivation be done with minimal soil erosion because a and grass held the loose soil particle together.

Water management index;

To control the flow R. Tennessee and its tributaries and to be abler to predict possible occurrence of floods, towers were built along the course of the river to enable constant monitoring of the water level. A water management index was set to determine the level and quality of river rain H₂O.

Use of soil additives;

Soil additives such as fertilizers were applied into the soils to help on regain their fertility and productivity.

SUCCESSES OF THE SCHEME

The TVA achieved many if not all, of the objectives and therefore recorded major successes. These include;

-A lot of hydro electric power was locally generated to meet industrial and domestic power requirements. More than 80% of the rural country side and all urban centers are served with power from the scheme.

-Navigability of river Tennessee has been improved through dredging of initially sited river valleys.

-Grant irrigation schemes is the areas sprung up growing numerous crops for example sugar break citrus fruits, horticultural crops and flowers.

-The R. Tennessee together with its dams and locks are of tremendous tourist potential and these areas led to the growth of tourist industry.

To dig ways and means of containing water borne diseases which had led to loss of life.

To contain the unemployment problems and consequently the poverty situation in the Tennessee by restoring full scale production.

STEPS TAKEN TO REMEDY THE SAID PROBLEMS 

1. Use of brush woods;

They were placed in galleys to trap the loose soil particles which the running water would carry along. By so doing, potholes, galleys were quickly filled and adverse soil erosion checked.

2. Plaiting of cover crops;

Crops that could grow even on thin soils and cover the soils thereby protecting it from soil erosion were planted throughout the Tennessee valley.

There was cultivation many different crops that are same time but whose gestation periods were different such that constantly the soils had crop cover to protect them against agents of soil erosion.

1. Planting legumes;

Leguminous crops were planted throughout the Tennessee valley because they were discovered to add ferocity to the soil because of the nitrogen-fixing bacteria contained in their root nodules.

Mixed cropping;

Crops for example sugar beat which offered little protection to soil against erosion were inter periods were inert planted with other plant species that had a strong root system and could protect the soil against erosion.

Re-afforestation;

Markets slops were all re-afforested to minimize grove soil erosion temperate hard wood were specifically planted on all mountain slopes to replace the absurd vegetation cover.

4. Construction of dams and locks;

To regulate the growth of rivers, a number of dams were put up and so were locks which not only controlled the river vessels but also facilitated upstream mountains slopes and water vessels.

The early settlers who come to this were agacian (Agriculture) and therefore quickly cleared down the forests areas and claimed the swamps for extensive agriculture.

As population grew in numbers, slopes on the Appalachian Mountains were cleared.

By mid 1930’s, a number of catastrophes had emerged such as:-

-The valley experienced severe soil erosion which left the relict soils bare, barren and therefore unable to support any arable farming.

-There were records of constant flooding of river Tennessee and its tributary streams which left basin constantly submerged.

-There was siltation of R. Tennessee and its streams due to erosion which deposited sills into them thereby making navigation impossible

-A number of water-borne diseases such as bilharzia, river blindness and others broke out leading to loss if life in the states of Tennessee.

-Unemployment and therefore poverty become widespread since the people who relied on agriculture would no longer grow crops due to a combination of the above factors.

-A body was therefore crated to contain the above problems which was known as Tennessee valley authority (T.V.A)

 AIMS OF THE TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY

-To control flooding which had hitherto aggravated loss of arable land due to submergence.

-To prevent further soil erosion and therefore save the soil from extensive damage and similarly minimize siltation of the Tennessee River and its tributary streams.

-To bring into arable use much of the land affected by soil erosion and restore agriculture production of such areas.

-To restore and improve on the R. Tennessee potential for navigation through dredging (removal of accumulations of over sediments or silk).

-To generate hydro-electric power to meet the domestic and industrial energy requirements of the states of Tennessee and Alabama.

And labour involved has been diverted to food production

3. The lake formed improved navigation since former dangerous bends and shoals are completely covered.
4. A regular flow of water has enabled the production of hydroelectric power. This in turn has stimulated industrial development.
5. The power from the dam has meant a large increase in Egypt power potential. The need for solid fuels in industry has been reduced thus saving the countries valuable foreign exchange earnings.
6. A guaranteed flow of water for the barrages on the lower Nile. Future HEP stations can be constructed should Egypt need them with no fear of irregular water flow.
7. Lake Nasser provides a valuable source of protein fish
8. The lake and the dam are important tourist attraction features thus earning the country foreign exchange.
9. Hydroelectric power generated is exported to Sudan which earns Egypt foreign exchange.
10. Improved S.O.L through the electrification of rural areas.

SHORTCOMINGS/PROBLEMS

1. There was do placement of people who had lived in the areas now covered by L. Nasser. Over 42,000 people with their livestock had to be evacuated.
2. The accumulation of silt behind the dam has reduced the amount of water which can be stored as well as affecting the Nile Delta.
3. The scheme is engaged in the production of agricultural products for example cotton whose process fluctuate on the world market. This affects income of both the framers and government.
4. The schemes are too large for the farmers work efficiently. Being large they are also expensive to manage other expenses include the removal of weeds
5. Siltation of the irrigation canals and manmade lakes.
6. Increased soil salinity due to high rates of evaporation.
7. Cotton is the main crop grown. This has resulted into soil exhaustion.
8. Displacement of people which necessitated the formation of resettlement scheme
9. WPollution of water and soils from the fertilizers used