Local fishers’ knowledge on the ecology, economic importance, and threats faced by populations of African snakehead fish, Parachanna obscura, within Côte d'Ivoire freshwater ecosystems

Abstract

Traditionally, population sizes, ecology, and threats to species and their habitats have been obtained by empirical scientific studies. However, the knowledge of local and indigenous communities worldwide has been acknowledged as an extremely rich and underused source of information on how the environment, biodiversity, and local conditions are changing over time. In this view, the objective of the study was to investigate local fishers’ knowledge of local names, habitats, uses, market price, change in population abundance, and threats faced by the snakehead fish (Parachanna obscura) in Ivorian freshwaters. The study was conducted using face-to-face interviews and a structured questionnaire with 381 fishers during the period from October 2020 to February 2021. The results show that this fish species is strongly appreciated for the good taste of its flesh, with market prices varying between 1.5 and 3€ on average. All respondents confirmed that the species is not yet produced in aquaculture and mentioned their willingness to support its introduction into aquaculture. Several local names of P. obscura fish were recorded, with ‘Sounôgô-djêguê’ (used in 36% of fishers’ ethnic groups), ‘Pino’ (21%), and ‘Édjoué-bile’ (21%) being the most popular names used in Ivorian fishers’ communities. All respondents agreed that P. obscura is a potamodromous fish species living preferably in wetlands, rivers, lakes, and streams. A significant decrease in the abundance of this fish was observed by 71% of fishers, perceived mainly due to overfishing, deforestation around watersheds, habitat destruction/modification, obnoxious fishing practices, pesticide use in farms close to watersheds, and climate change, especially lack of rainfall. The study clearly demonstrated the importance of local ecological knowledge of fishers in identifying threats to fish populations, habitat types used by the species, and other relevant information; therefore, this ecological knowledge has to be integrated into biomonitoring and conservation policy of aquatic biodiversity. The information obtained from this study is also helpful for future studies on the management and cultivation of this species.