Influence of anthropogenic activities on fishery resources in the hydrosystems of the Kasambanza group, Luniungu Sector, Bulungu Territory, Kwilu Province in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Abstract

The objective of this study was to contribute to the knowledge of the pressures exerted on fishery resources in the Kasambanza group located in the territory of Bulungu in the DR Congo. Surveys carried out among the population and supplemented by experimental fishing campaigns using gill nets, dip nets and hooks in some hydrosystems in the study area showed that in total, thirty species of fish grouped in nine orders, thirteen families and twenty-four genera; two species of shrimp (Macrobranchium dux and Caridina africana) as well as a species of crab: Brachyura sp colonize the hydrosystems of the Kasambanza group. Several anthropogenic activities are the basis of the decline in fishery resources in this group. This concerns uncontrolled reforestation and bush fires in forest galleries, fishing by dam or with small mesh nets or using fish-toxic plants and the construction of dam ponds on almost all small rivers. The effective and rational management of fisheries resources in these environments requires the implementation of sustainable agricultural practices in order to contribute to the safeguarding and restoration of these hydrosystems.