Aquaculture potential of the black-chinned tilapia, Sarotherodon melanotheron (Cichlidae). Comparative study of the effect of stocking density on growth performance of landlocked and natural populations under cage culture conditions in Lake Ayame (Co

摘要

Sarotherodon melanotheron Ruppell 1852 is an important fish in the commercial and subsistence fisheries of many West African lagoons (Ekau & Blay 2000). This species is considered a brackish water tilapia generally found in estuaries, lagoons and occasionally in the mouth and the lower com ses of the coastal basins from Senegal to the Congo (Trewavas & Teu-geJs 1991). In the man-made Lake Ayame (Cote dlvoire). a population of S melanotheron has been landlocked following the construction of a dam in 1959. The fishery statistics show that this species represents 51% of commercial catches, which in 1996. included over 10001 (Gourene, leugels, Hugueny & Thys van den Audenaerde 1999).