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P A G E 4
Native Freshwater Fish Farms as a Bushmeat Alternative
By Erik R. Patel, Ph.D., DLC Post-Doctoral Project Director, SAVA Conservation
S A V A C O N S E R V A T I O N
V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 2
Hunting of wild lemurs by local residents for food has been documented since the first
long-term lemur research began in the 1960s. For example, Sussman and Richard (1986)
pointed out that Verreaux’s sifaka as “…a large,
white sifaka is the easiest target in the South for a
lemur hunter…” (p. 89). In recent decades lemur
hunting is known to have increased to the extent
that “There are very few lemur species which are
not eaten on a regular basis” (Ganzhorn et al.,
1996, p. 70). Nevertheless, lemur hunting was
never considered as extreme as primate hunting
on the African continent, but unfortunately that
may be changing. Since the latest political crisis in
Madagascar began in 2009, bushmeat hunting has
increased across Madagascar. Even species long
considered protected by local taboos or “fadys”
against hunting, such as indri and Tattersalli’s si-
faka, have been heavily hunted in some regions
recently, partly due to an influx of immigrants who are less likely to respect local tradi-
tions. In the Marojejy region, we have noticed a worrisome rise in gun-hunting of lemurs
even inside protected areas.
Fresh water fish specialist and collaborator, Guy Tam Hyock.
“The goals of the new
DLC fish-farming
initiative are to provide
an alternative protein
and income
source ...while also
reestablishing wild fish
populations in
previously overfished
local waters ….”
Guy's ponds where he raises native Malagasy fish, overlooking the Andapa basin.