Le poisson, un objet de mobilité des « pêcheurs étrangers » vers le lac Toho au Sud-ouest du Bénin

Abstract

Fish is a natural resource which structures at least the mobility of three categories of actors: fishermen (1), traders of fishery products (2) and consumers of these products (3). This article aims at analyzing the mobility of "foreign fishermen" to the destination of Lake Toho located in the south West of Benin. To achieve this, the qualitative social science research methods were used. Assuming that this mobility of foreign fishermen embeds representations that structure practices harmful not only to fish species but also to Lake Toho, this research work bases its empirical legitimacy on the realization of participatory observation and about twenty semi-structured interviews with actors chosen by means of typical choice. Triangulation and content analysis were used for data analysis and the findings were made intelligible using representation theories and exclusive mastery. The findings reveal that the mobility of "foreign fishermen" encapsulates positive and negative representations in anchoring with fish. These water men travel to catch fish wherever they are found, including Lake Toho. The aboriginal fishermen of Lake Toho can see through this "internal migration" the destruction of their body of water as well as the overexploitation of the fish species found there. They therefore do not digest the presence of foreign fishermen with whom they are forced to exploit the lake, which they consider to be their exclusive property.