Department of National Parks and Wild Life Management
Abstract
The report provides catch records for the Kapenta and inshore fisheries in the Zimbabwean waters of Lake Kariba for the year 1996. Kapenta usually constitute about 90% of the total catch from Lake Kariba; for statistical purposes catches are recorded for the 5 hydrological basins - Mlibizi, Binga, Sengwa, Bumi and Kariba. Whereas kapenta represent a unit stock which is harvested by both Zimbabwe and Zambia, the artisanal fishery exploits inshore species which generally occupy water less than 10m deep along the shoreline, considered to be 2 separate stocks. The main species in the inshore fishery are Oreochromis mortimeri, Sargochromis codringtonii, Tilapia rendalli, Labeo altivelis, Hydrocynus vittatus, Mormyrus longirostris, Clarias gariepinus and Synodontis zambezensis
