In northern Côte d'Ivoire, fishing is mainly practiced in agro-pastoral Dam Lakes. Previous studies on some of them indicated the possibility to increase their exploited production. This study was conducted from October 2018 to September 2019 on the Solomougou Dam Lake. Its objectives are to study the intensity of fishing activity and the rate of exploitation of this fishery. It appears that fishing is practiced throughout the year on this lake. However, 54.54% of fishermen stay there less than 6 months, also exploiting other fisheries in the region. Less frequented from August to October, its colonization gradually increases from November to reach the peak in March. Fishing gears are used seasonally. In fact, traps and gillnets are less used respectively during low water and flood periods of the Dam Lake. Sparrow hawks, less used by fishermen, are however used throughout the year while the use of longlines, bamboo traps and seine nets is limited to a few months. In terms of exploitation of the fishery, a density of 6.6 fishermen per km2 would be observed in a situation of full exploitation indicating a state of overexploitation of the fishery. However, taking into account fluctuations of fishermen's number per month, their densities ranged between 0.8 and 2.6 fishermen per km2 from July to December, indicative of normal exploitation of the fishery and between 3.2 and 4.2 fishermen per km2 outside this period, a little above the recommended standards.

Le lac de barrage Solomougou, créé en 1973 à des fins agricoles, est exploité de nos jours pour les activités halieutiques. La présente étude y a été conduite en vue d’étudier sa diversité ichtyologique. Les captures des pêcheurs ont été analysées de janvier à décembre 2019. Les paramètres étudiés sont la richesse spécifique, les abondances spécifique et relative, le pourcentage d’occurrence ainsi que les indices de diversité spécifique de Shannon et Weaver et d’équitabilité de Piélou. Ainsi, 12950 spécimens répartis en quatorze familles, vingt-cinq genres et trente-sept espèces ont été répertoriés. Les trois familles comptant le plus d’espèces sont les Cichlidae (10 espèces), suivis des Mormyridae (6 espèces) et des Cyprinidae (5 espèces). Cependant, dans les captures totales, les Cichlidae (41,87%) sont toujours les plus nombreux, suivis des Alestidae (14,47%) et des Mochokidae (12,84%), chacune de ces deux dernières familles étant représentées par deux espèces. Enfin, en termes d’abondance relative spécifique, Brycinus imberi (14,41%), Synodontis schall (12,76%) et Oreochromis niloticus (11,62%) sont les plus représentatives. Relativement aux valeurs de fréquence d’occurrence, la pêcherie compte quatorze espèces accidentelles, une accessoire et vingt-deux constantes. Les valeurs de l’indice de diversité spécifique de Shannon et de l’indice d’équitabilité sont respectivement 3,9159 et 0,7517.Mots clés : Espèces de poissons, abondance, distribution, lac de barrage Solomougou, Côte d'Ivoire. English title: Ichtyological fauna of the Solomougou dam lake (Korhogo, Côte d'Ivoire) The Solomougou dam lake, created in 1973 for crop irrigation, is nowadays used for fishing activities. This study was conducted in order to understand the ichthyological diversity in this fishery. So, fishermen’s catches have been analyzed from January to December 2019 in order to identify fish species and to calculate their specific and relative abundances, their occurrence’s frequency as well as Shannon diversity index and Piélou equitability index. Thus, 12950 specimens including fourteen families, twenty-five genera and thirty-seven species have been recorded. The three families with the most species are Cichlidae (10 species), followed by Mormyridae (6 species) and Cyprinidae (5 species). However, taking into account the relative abundances of families in the total catches, Cichlidae (41.87%) are always the most numerous, followed by Alestidae (14.47%) and Mochokidae (12.84%), each of these last two families being represented by only two species. Finally, in terms of specific relative abundance, the three most dominant species are Brycinus imberi (14.41%), Synodontis schall (12.76%) and Oreochromis niloticus (11.62%). With regard to the occurrence’s frequency values, fourteen accidental species, one accessory and twenty-two constants have been identified. Shannon diversity index and Piélou equitability index are 3.9159 and 0.7517, respectively.Keywords: Fish species, abundance, distribution, Solomougou Dam Lake, Côte d'Ivoire.

Ivorian lagoon water bodies contribute to the fight against food insecurity through fisheries. They provide fresh and competitive products to the local population. Thereby, strategies for their rational and sustainable exploitation must be put in place. This study aimed at contributing to the improvement of fishing activities in the Aby lagoon. It is the result of three months of surveys (from January to March 2020) with the fishermen and the fisheries administration. It appears that fishing is practiced by indigenous peoples. The most represented were aged over 45 years old (71.30%). Gillnets (65.59%) and nailed plank canoes (67%) were the most used. However, Aly nets (5.63% of fishing gears types) remain the most productive providing 80% of catches. The main fish species recorded were Ethmalosa fimbriata (Clupeidae), Elops lacerta (Elopidae) and Sarotherodon melanotheron (Cichlidae). However, the effective management of the water body still remains a major concern. Indeed, constraints were mainly: the non-submission of individual fishermen to the fisheries administration, the struggle for space reserved for fishing between individual and collective fishermen, the use of non-selective gears such as the Aly net. Thus, it seems necessary to train and sensitize the actors on the concept of sustainable development and to apply the management rules for a rational exploitation of this fishery.

Many small reservoirs in Northern Côte d'Ivoire are used for crop irrigation, livestock rearing or fishing. They generate moderated ichthyological catches for local populations. Thus, strategies for their sustainable exploitation should be put in place. This study was conducted to provide the first data on fishing activity on the Lavononkaha Dam Lake. From June 2020 to July 2021, field studies were undertaken with the objectives of characterising fishing gears used, studying catch composition, and evaluating exploitation parameters of the Oreochromis niloticus stock. Results obtained stated the practice of recreational fishing by 41 anglers. These fishermen used a total of 380 fishing lines, 92.11% of which were single fishing rod. Ten fish species were identified in catches with a particular abundance of Oreochromis niloticus (48.33%). In the fishery, this species has a longevity tmax of 3.7 years and grows towards asymptotic length L∞=24.68 cm at a growth rate K=0.810/year. Despite the high number of fishing gears used, the stock of the species is underexploited (E=0.34) and half of the specimens are caught after reaching sexual maturity. Thus, the possibilities of increasing fishing effort to increase yields of this species exist within certain limits to be specified. Vol. 9, No. 2, August 2022: 229-238