The general objective of this article is to investigate fishing in the Ikelemba lotic ecosystem, Equateur province in DR Congo. The results of our investigations revealed that male respondents were the most dominant with 201 individuals representing 91% of the total number. Those of the female gender counted 20 respondents occupying 9% of the total population surveyed. The age groups, the age group between 30 and 35 years old recorded the largest number of people, i.e. 45 individuals representing (20.4%) of the total number, followed by that between 36 and 41 years old. with 35 individuals (i.e. 15.8%). The age groups of 18 to 23 years old with 31 individuals (i.e. 14%), 54 to 59 years old with 24 individuals (i.e. 10.9%), 24 to 29 years old 23 individuals (i.e. 10.4%), 48 to 53 years old 21 individuals (i.e. 9.5%), 42 to 47 years old 20 individuals (i.e. 9%) and those aged 60 and over were poorly represented with 9 individuals (i.e. 4.1%) of the total number of investigated. Regarding the marital status of the respondents, married couples included a very high number of respondents, representing 142 individuals (i.e. 64.2%) and 56 individuals living in a common-law union (i.e. 25.3%). There were 21 single people surveyed (i.e. 9.5%) of the total population surveyed. People in the category of divorced people and widowers were each poorly represented, one individual (i.e. 0.4%) of all respondents. Respondents who attended secondary school were the most dominant with 124 subjects representing 56.1%, followed by state-certified respondents representing 57 individuals (i.e. 25.8%). As for those at the primary level, 40 respondents were the subject of this study representing 18.1% of the total number and zero respondents with university level and 0 illiterate. Regarding the reasons which justify the practice of fishing, 84 individuals (i.e. 38%) mainly practice traditional fishing as an inheritance from father to son, followed by 81 individuals (i.e. 36.7%) who fish for reasons of its economic benefit and finally those who stated the lack of other professions were weakly represented with 56 individuals (or 25.3%) of the total number of the population surveyed. Fishing was the majority professional activity of most of the respondents in the Ikelemba site 121 individuals representing 54.7% for the purchase of houses; the purchase of other goods comprising 39 individuals (i.e. 17.6%), followed by 28 individuals (i.e. 12.7%) who lifted the wish to buy a bicycle, 25 respondents (i.e. 11.3%) affirmed the purchase of a solar panel, 5 individuals (i.e. 2.3%) say they bought a motorcycle and finally, those who bought a generator were poorly represented among all respondents with 3 individuals (i.e. 1.4% ). Fishing on the Ikelemba River is carried out using the following gear according to their order of use: 192 for nets, 150 for hooks, 109 for traps, 59 for chemical products, 8 for emptying the backwaters. Frequency of use according to the combination of fishing gear: 109: Nets, traps and hooks, 54: Nets and hooks, 26: Nets and 16: Nets, hooks, traps and spears, 8: Nets, hooks and spears, 8: Hooks and traps. 162 fishermen out of 221 or 73.3% do not use this technique to catch fish in the Ikelemba River. 59 fishermen out of 221 use this technique, i.e. 26.7 of which 46 use fish-toxic plants and 13 use industrial chemicals.

Auteurs: Floribert Ndunga Mwanga Motakabami., 2024