Fish Fauna Production in the Bandama River at the Lamto Scientific Reserve (Côte d’Ivoire)

The increasing intensification of the exploitation of fishery resources in Africa in general and in Côte d'Ivoire in particular, associated with the processes of degradation of the natural environment, pose real risks of regression, disappearance of species and reduction of fish production. So, knowledge of fishing parameters is very important in the strategy implemented by managers of this sector on Ivorian rivers and bodies of water. Thus, the composition of catches, fishing effort and fishing gear production were studied in the Bandama River from July 2023 to June 2024. The data was collected by experimental fishing with gillnets and traps to which fishing data were added artisanal fishing carried out during the sampling days. A total of 41 species belonging to 5 orders and 13 families of fish with a biomass of 18896 kg were identified. Siluriformes (44%) and Perciformes (26%) were dominant. The highest fishing efforts and CPUEs were obtained with gillnets and papolo traps. The values were maximum in the rainy season. Annual production was 7285.74 Kg for the gillnets and 5066.53 Kg for the papolo traps. The results of this study revealed that fish from the Bandama River at Lamto are overexploited. This constitutes a basic element for decision-making in the quest for a protection and conservation strategy of the fishing resources of this protected area in Côte d’Ivoire.