Perceptions of the attributes of fish farming in floating cages on Lake Toho in southern Benin: the case of fishermen

Fishing is an economic activity that generates significant added value, contributes to job creation and improved food and nutritional security. For several years however, it has been confronted for several years with a decline in halieutic resources in the face of which fish farming in floating cages constitutes an optimal management solution. The objective of this article is to analyze the perceptions of the attributes of fish farming in floating cages by fishermen. The study involved a random selection of 210 fishermen from the three municipalities (Lokossa, Houéyogbé and Athiémé) of Toho lake. Analyzes of variance and correlation followed by principal component analysis were used to analyze the data. The results showed that there are three groups of fishers with different perceptions of floating cage fish farming. Fishers who perceived fish farming in floating cages as a form of fish farming that is efficient and very demanding but less suitable in the long term represent the first group. For the second group of fishermen, there are markets for the sale and sale of fish reared in floating cages, but there is difficulty in finding inputs (provend, veterinary products and antibiotics) of fish in floating cages. The third group perceived that fish farming in floating cages is a very flexible, rigid and efficient activity compared to other fish farming techniques. According to this study, it is important that the Government of Benin take into account the perceptions of fishermen before installing floating cages on Lake Toho.