Co-opting Small-Scale Fishers’ Knowledge with Scientific Data to Improve Understanding of Fish Community Structures in the Lower Komati River, South Africa

Context In developing countries, fish data might be lacking and expensive to collect. Fisher’s local ecological knowledge (LEK) has been identified as important to complement scientific data gaps. However, consensus and divergences between both methods have not been extensively studied. Aims This paper compares local fishers’ LEK and scientifically sampled data on fish species composition, ecological preferences, and wellbeing in the Lower Komati River, South Africa. Methods Key informant interviews (n = 6), field tracking (n = 5) and participatory mapping (n = 22) were undertaken to capture fishers’ LEK and produce maps showing fishing points. Two science-led fish surveys in six sites were also undertaken between August 2019 and December 2019 by using an electrofishing method. Key results The fishers’ LEK and survey data showed similar patterns of occurrence of Micralestes acutidens, Coptodon rendalli, Oreochromis mossambicus and Labeo cylindricus. Comparing fishers’ catch estimates and survey catch showed that there is no significant difference (P > 0.05) in abundance on the two most sampled species by using ANOVA. Conclusion Differences between the two methods were observed in assessing the river and fish’s wellbeing. Implication The similarities and differences were identified as opportunities for small-scale fisheries and scientists to co-identify ecosystem management strategies that are congruent to the local environment.