Biodiversity of bottom trawl fishery and left-over marine resources along the Cameroonian coast

Abstract

The objective of this study was to provide information on the diversity of catches, by-catches and discards by trawlers in the mouths of Sanaga (MSR) and Nyong (MNR) rivers along the coast of Cameroon. Samples were collected on board of a fishing vessel using the bottom trawling technique. Specimens were identified using 2104 and 2016 FAO identification keys. A total of 58 species belonging to 38 families and 5 super-classes were identified. Amongst, 72%, 14%, 10%, 2% and 2% were fish, mollusks, reptiles, crustaceans and cnidarians, respectively. We found 67.1% of marketable fish and shrimp and 32.9% of discards consisting of immature fishes. The MNR was richer in marketable fish species (p=0.0001) and discards (p=0.019) than MSR. The Cameroon coast is rich in biodiversity. However, it is today threatened by marine pollution and the non-respect of trawling which jeopardizes the sustainability of the fishing industry in Cameroon.