KNOWLEDGE TO COPE WITH AND ABILITY OF FISHER FOLK TO ENDURE FISH SCARCITY AT SASSANDRA (SOUTHWESTERN COTE DIVOIRE)

Coping with fish scarcity is quite common worldwide; yet it takes knowledge and ability to get the appropriate ways fitting for endurance. The current study was carried out shortly before the fishing-closure measures that were set up by the Government three years past took effect for the third time in July 2025. A set of questions was used to gather information about working conditions of the marine artisanal fishery stakeholders of Sassandra (Southwestern Côte d’Ivoire) during the last two weeks of June. For that purpose, 155 interviewees (80 women and 75 men) were approached to get them answer some questions about type of fishery-related activity, fishers' stay at sea (frequency and number of days spent there), scarcity of fishery resources and the way people handled the situation. The results indicated that fishers and fishers' wives held a prominent position in the fishery's functioning, accounting for 47.10% and 34.84% of the interviewees, respectively. Regarding the causes of fish scarcity, a change in the duration ofthe favourable fishing season was identified as the least cause (3.22% of the responses), while the existence of numerous fishing vessels was viewed as the prevailing one (according to 22.58% of respondents). For them to cope with fish scarcity, some fishers would have the convenience of spending more than 4 days at sea or reducing the number of fishing trips; which contrasts with the days of fish abundance when trips trended towards 6 times a week with fishers stay not exceeding 2 days at sea.