FISHERIES 241 



eludes the whole west coast of Africa from Port Etienne southward, 

 so they will be invaluable to future surveys of the resources of the 

 sea along all the French and British coasts. 



East Africa 



Except in the case of certain sporting fisheries developed through 

 the introduction of trout and black bass, there is no specialized 

 organization in any British territory other than South Africa for 

 investigating the resources of waters, or for the scientific control 

 of fisheries. The work so far done is the result of a few special inves- 

 tigations organized by governments, and of scientific expeditions 

 carried out in short terms of field work. 



Interest was taken by the governments of Kenya and Zanzibar 

 in 1928 as to the fishery possibilities on the East African coast. Dr. 

 C. von Bonde, Director of Fisheries in South Africa, was seconded 

 for a few months' survey in the neighbourhood of Mombasa and 

 Zanzibar, and his reports (1928 and 1929), though devoted princi- 

 pally to the improvement of curing methods, contain also some 

 information about the important fish. 



Native fisheries always sufifer from being confined to the littoral 

 waters, and it is doubtful whether real expansion can occur until 

 the open-water fishing-grounds are available. In this connection 

 experience in Ceylon is instructive. Here ordinary hydrographic 

 survey, with the study of fish treated as incidental, was the first 

 step; the banks had to be discovered and delimited before it was 

 possible to attempt commercial fishing. The continuation of the 

 survey into the littoral zones has not yet been finished in Ceylon, 

 but the results up to date show the value of studies organized in 

 this order. 



The consumption of sea fish by natives is unlikely to extend far 

 inland in East Africa on account of transport difficulties, but the 

 Great Lakes, which are within easy reach of vast areas of thickly 

 populated inland territory, and from time immemorial have pro- 

 vided the subsistence of many fishing tribes, offer considerable 

 opportunities for developm.ent (plate iii, p. 238). 



European methods of fishing were first introduced on Lake 

 Victoria, and since 1905 a considerable fishery for the ngege, or 

 African carp [Tilapia) has developed from the introduction of 



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