Artisanal Fisheries and Economics of Fishing Units at Sirte in Libya

 

The Inshore Fishing Boats (ISFB) and Deep Sea Fishing Boats (DSFB) that operate at Sirte have been studied for its fisheries and fisheries economics for a period of one year. Representation of population has ensured by simple random and systematic sampling methods. The result of ISFB and DSFB have compared and contrasted to analyze merit and demerits and draw recommendation for fisheries development.

Results show, in a month, the average production of ISFB was 812kg fish worth 6210 Libyan Dinar(LD) and by DSFB 510kg worth 2819LD. Seasonal fluctuation in production has been noticed throughout the study period. Annually altogether the ISFBs have contributed an annual production of 156526kg fish worth 910010LD. Similarly the DSFBs landed 307356kg worth 2980361LD. The major group contributed for ISFB catch was Common dentex, Golden grouper, Dusky spinefoot, Mediterranean Horsemackerel, Greater amberjack and Common dolfinfish in the order of abundance. Major share of DSFB was by Common dentex, Barracuda, Greater amberjack, Mediterranean Horsemackerel, Golden grouper, Duskt grouper and Coryphaena sp.

On an average an ISFB crew earned a net income of 846LD in a month and 565LD by DSFB crew. The owners of ISFB and DSFB gained a net income of 1128 and 2823LD respectively. ISFB owners invested only 10,000LD per boat while DSFB invested 60,000LD. It justifies the difference in return on investment. Fisheries and fisheries research in Libya still remain as one of the virgin areas that need more attention for research and development. 

Key words: Artisanal Marine Fisheries, Catch copmposition, Monitoring and analysis, Fisheries Management