Patron-Client Relationship (PCR) in Fresh
Fish Trade (FFT) at Lake Chad, Cameroon
Kyoto Kacho University
INAI Hiroyuki
Fisheries and Trade in Africa
1. Small-Scale Fisheries
 Catchment in Main African inland waters is 600,000t
($750milion, Neiland &Béné, 2008)
 90% of Fishing actors are Small-Scale Fishermen
2. Processed Fish Trade
 Important commodity because of long storage for long time
in Africa
 Fish processed by drying, smoking, salting and fermenting
Fisheries and Trade at Lake Chad
 Fisheries
 Climatic environment is very unstable
 Lake Chad has played an important role of fish supply center
to the cities seaboard of gulf of Guinea (Stauch 1977)
 60-90,000t/year catchment (Jolley et al. 1997; 2002, etc.)
 Trade
 Processed fish (dried and smoked) has been an important
commodity for long time (Barth 1851; Couty 1964, etc.)
 Trade practices and the relationship between fishermen and
middlemen have been changed by the increasing demand
of processed fish since 1980s
 Fresh Fish Trade (FFT) has become active recently
Patron-Client Relationship (PCR) in
Africa
Social status
Protection
(Credit, Financial aid)
Client
(Fishermen)
Patron
(Middlemen)
Endorsement
(Exclusive sales)
high
low
Reciprocal relationship between the higher and the lower in social
status
Case of PCR above observed in processed fish trade (Inai 2014)
How about PCR in Fresh Fish Trade?
Purpose & Method
 Purpose:
Report general information about fisheries at Lake Chad, and
characteristics of PCR in Fresh Fish Trades (FFT) comparing with
processed fish trades
I. Fishing and Trade at Lake Chad
II. Fresh Fish Trade at Lake Chad
 Method:
Observation and interviews about fishing activities and trade at
Lake Chad
Quantitative survey of catchment (n=33) and amount of FFT on a
middleman’s record (15 days: 15th-30th Mar. 2013)
Research Area: Lake Chad
Cameroon
from Google Earth
 Field: Darak, Far North Province,
Cameroon (N12.8°, E14.3°)
 Period:10th-30th March, 2011
 Annual Precipitation: 400-450mm
 Dominant Currency: NGN (Nigerian)
I. Fishing and Trade at Lake Chad
Smoked fish transport to Nigerian cities
Fishing at Lake Chad(1)
casting net
basket
Fixed net
Trawling fishing
Fish Fauna: 22 families, 51 genus, 88 species
Catchment fluctuates following water level of Lake Chad
15,000 migrant fishermen (Nieland and Béné, 2008)
4 kinds of fishing methods (photos above) mainly employed
With pirogue without outboard motor and small fishing gears
Fishing at Lake Chad(2)
Large species
Trawling fishing:
3 million CFA
(6,000 USD)
Lates niloticus
Fixed net fishing:
20-100,000CFA
(40-500USD)
Basket fishing:
 Cost: 50,000CFA
(100 USD)
Heterotisu niloticus
Small-Middle species
c
Brycynus spp.
 Casting net:
 Cost: 50,000CFA
(100 USD)
Tilapia spp.
Silurias spp.
Fish Trade Tendency at Lake Chad
Large species
Active Trade
Smoked
Middlemen
visit to buy fish
in fishing camps
Lates niloticus
Heterotisu niloticus
Dried
Small-Middle species
Brycynus spp.
Tilapia spp.
Passive Trade
Silurias spp.
Fishermen visit
to sell at
middlemen’s
boat
Fresh
Fishing and Trade at Lake Chad
 Fishing method and target species
Fishing methods correspond to target species
Target species correspond to items (fresh, dried and smoked)
Target fish size is proportional to amount of fishing gear
⇨ “Compartmentalization” by item in fish product and circulation
Fish Trade Tendency
 Processed Fish: Middlemen move to purchase
 Fresh Fish: Fishermen move to sell
⇨2 kinds of middlemen trade (active and passive)
II. Fresh Fish Trade at Lake Chad
Port of Darak
Fresh Fish Trade at Lake Chad
Motorization
Cool Storage by ice
Fresh Fish
FFT Middlemen: about 60 middlemen at Lake Chad (9 at Darak)
Ethnic Group of Middlemen: Hausa tribe from Nigeria
Buy at Lake Chad and sell at a village nearby N’djamena for
6 days (except Saturday)
Fishing Methods and Cap. Ratio
15
Fishing basket,
13
Gill net, 6
10
5
Casting net,
14
0
Gill net
Musgun
Casting net Fishing basket
Hausa
Unknown
 Fishermen: Gill net (6); Casting net (14); Fishing basket (13)
 Tendency in fishing methods employed by 2 ethnic groups
 Fishermen prepared all fishing gears except 1 by themselves
Fresh Fish Fishermen:
A case of Musgun (Inai 2010; 2014)
 Agro-fishermen living in floodplain upstream of Lake Chad
 Migrant fishing started in 1970’s (Drier period)
 Bride wealth system was changed because of droughts in 70s
(Cattles by house chief ⇨Cash by fishermen themselves)
 Over 80% of fishermen are young (20-30s years)
 Employment of same casting net and pirogue used in their village
Possible to fish without extra investment to migrant fishing
Stable Quoted Market Price in FFT
NGN (₦)
8000
y = 88.093x + 429.05
R² = 0.6968
6000
4000
2000
0
0
20
40
60
Weight(kg)
Gill net




Casting net
Fishing basket
Average of Tilapia family is 105 NGN (0.65 USD) /kg
Prices of casting net and fishing basket are stable
On the other hand, gill net is more fluctuating
1 case (red circle○) was half of the price (51NGN/kg)
→repayment from catchment by fisherman
80
number of times
High Fluidity of Fishermen
30
20
10
0
24
1
3
1
1
1
1
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Frequency
Gill net
Casting net
Fishing basket
73% of all trades observed (24/33) are only one-time trades
Not proportional to trade frequency and degree of confidence
→ Exploiting vast fishing grounds by fishermen prevent from getting
best clients
→ Middlemen have to deal with a large indefinite number
of fishermen
Conclusion:
PCR in Fresh Fish Trade at Lake Chad
Processed Fish
Fresh Fish
Investment to fishing gear/Target species
High cost / value
Low cost / value
Trade Tendency
High Fluidity
Low Fluidity
Market Price
Unstable
(depending of financial condition)
Stable
PCR
Based on reciprocal
relationships
based on market economy
Bibliography(1)
• Barth H. (1857)”Travels and Discoveries in North and Central Africa: Being a Journal of an Expedition Undertaken
Under the Auspices of H.B.M.’s Government, in the Years 1849-1855”.Vol.2.London
• Crona B., Nystrom M., Folke C. and Jiddawi N.(2010)”Middlemen, a critical social- ecological link in
coastal communities of Kenya and Zanzibar”. Marine Policy.Vol.34(4). pp.761-771.
• Inai. H (2010) ”Coexistence of migrant and local fishermen: A comparative study of fishing activities in the South
eastern Cameroon” In Kimura. D. and K. Kitanishi (eds.). Natural history of forest. Kyoto university press
• Inai.H. (2014) ”River People at Logone River: A case of Migrant Fishermen by Musgoum in Inland River of Northern
Cameroon” In Nakamura R. and Inai. H.(eds.), African Fishermen. Nagoya University
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Tiotsop, M. Baba, L. Dara, and A. Zakara (2002) ”Fisheries Production and Fish Trade in the Lake Chad
Basin”.’Tropical River Fisheries Valuation: Background Papers to a Global Synthesis’ in.Neiland, A.E.
• Kitamado T.(2013) “Social Ecology of Marine People” Commons
• Jolley, T.H. & A.E. Neiland (1997). Fish stock composition of the wetlands of the Lake Chad Basin
1960-1996: a multi- disciplinary analysis. Publication 42. Centre for the Economics and Management of
aquatic Resources. University of Portsmouth (November, 1999).
• Hopson, J. (1969) A preliminary study on the biology of Alestes baremoze in the Malamfatori area. Annual Report,
1966-67, Federal Fisheries Service, Lake Chad Research Station, Malafamtori, Borno State,
Nigeria, pp. 50-83.
Bibliography (2)
• Neiland and Béné, (2008) Review of River Fisheries Valuation in West and Central Africa, World Fish
Center Studies and Reviews (Malaysia), no. 1836. pp.47-82.
• Stauch, A. (1977) Fish Statistics in the Lake Chad Basin during the drought (1969-1976). Cah. ORSTOM,
ser. Hydrobiol. Vol. XI.(3): 201-215.
Thank you for your attention
Fishermen, middlemen and
researcher sharing a singleplate meal (Muslims, Christians
and Buddhists)