Comparison of Catch Composition between Baited Basket traps and Un-baited basket traps in Diani Chale Area, South Coast Kenya

Most of the coastal and marine fisheries production comes from artisanal fishers who use simple fishing gears. Small-scale fishing is conducted in artisanal fisheries, which is characterized by a wide range of species and gear, including basket traps, hand lines, spear guns, beach seines, fence traps, gillnets, and, more recently, ring nets. Basket traps is one of the most widely used gear in Kenya and due to degradation of fishing grounds and changes in fishing patterns as a result of human and natural factors ,fish catches among artisanal fishermen have reduced thereby increasing vulnerability of coastal livelihood . Most fishermen have resorted to use of bait to increase their catch. This study therefore, evaluated the impact of bait in the basket trap fishery in Diani-Chale area, south coast, Kenya. Catch data of fish was collected between months of January, February and March. A detailed analysis in terms of species composition, abundance and sizes were done between baited and un-baited basket traps. Descriptive analysis in MS EXCEL was used to determine catch composition and relative abundance in each basket traps. While One-way ANOVA was used to test for significance difference of the dominant species between baited and un-baited basket traps. Red algae baited traps had the highest number of individuals (276) representing 16 species. Interestingly, un-baited traps caught more fish (102) representing 19 species compared to green algae baited traps that had only (75) individuals representing (14) species. No significant difference in terms of mean sizes of most abundant species (Scarus globiceps and Parupeneus barberinus) between bait types. Though this study confirms that baiting traps does not necessarily increase effectiveness of the gear in capturing fish, more data are required on the use of bait in the basket trap fishery before definite conclusions can be made for the betterment of the local fishery.