Kambiri Point Tropical Fish Facility- FAQ's

Introduction:

Construction of the facility began in August 1987 when formalities regarding the property ownership had been finalised and building has continued on an ongoing manner until today.  The present complex consists of a main fish house with a steel girder/truss roof; a wild caught holding center with over three hundred concrete tanks each of 1000 liters and eight large concrete ponds; a reservoir complex for water from the lake; a large store/workshop; senior staff quarters; domestic staff quarters and a main house for the owner/proprietor.

A seven hundred-meter long perimeter brick wall and gatehouse renders the property private and reasonably secure. There is also a thatched guest cottage and six double rooms for overseas clients; persons connected with the aquatic trade and hobbyists from Europe who are interested to come out to Malawi and view their fishes in their natural habitat and generally acquaint themselves with catching and exporting operations. A thatched airy rondavel doubles as a private bar and lounge/eating area. Exports first started in early 1973 at yet another site.

Why was this location selected? Is there anything special or unique about it?

The harbour feature assists dive boats to be moored securely and when the lake is high the larger diesel vessels can be moored alongside the 130 meters long walkway/jetty. Electric power on the jetty assists in general maintenance of all boats. The other feature is that fishing boats radiating out from Kambiri Point can access a number of important fishing areas and the facility's relative proximity to Lilongwe International Airport makes delivery of shipments through to the airport a one and a half hour road journey. 

What types of fishes are exported ?

In the main the fishes exported are the colourful rock dwelling fishes of the rocky areas of the lake although sandy shore area fishes do have their definite place in the scheme of things.  Over the many tens of thousands of years the fishes have evolved into separate species and varieties with different forms coming from various parts of the coastline and reefs.  It will thus be understood that to provide an extensive selection it is necessary for catching activities to cover a wide area of the lake.

Who does the catching ?

In all four teams of divers are operating - a team of four divers in the Salima area operating from Headquarters and there are three teams of four divers in the north.   They use diving gear and collect the fishes using fine meshed nets down to some 25 meters depth.  Fishes caught from these depths cannot be brought up immediately - there is a fairly involved amount of toing and froing in bringing the fishes up from the depths in stages.  

Large distances are covered by the dive teams in their nineteen footer open wooden boats (powered by an eight horsepower outboard motor) in reaching the various sites with non-stop water changing being the rule when returning with the fishes. Larger diesel vessels assist in the collection of fishes from the remoter collection areas.

Who tells the divers what to catch ?

Detailed orders are given from Headquarters - no question of just bringing in anything with fins! Lists of fishes from the various sites are maintained and orders for wild caught material are based on experience, known necessary stocking levels and requests from importers.

How do clients order fishes overseas ?

Stock lists are sent from Headquarters by Email - and clients in turn fax or Email their requirements.  Orders are exact and precise - no question of just sending out "fishes".  Importers sell the fishes to retail shops and these retailers pass the fishes on to hobbyists.

What are the losses on the journey by air ?

Losses are normally less than 5%.   Accidents due to weather and missed flights are very much the exception rather than the rule. After many years a good picture exists as to what can be expected with any given shipment.  Losses to distant destinations - the Americas and the Far East will obviously be larger - but fewer fishes are placed in the boxes to ease the situation and for these destinations losses should not exceed 7 - 8%.

Is there any danger of over-fishing ?

There are many food fishermen in Malawi and other littoral countries (Tanzania and Mozambique) who judge their success by weight and volume of the catch - and unquestionably "everything" that is caught is edible. Size is important to a certain extent for sales purposes - agreed - but if it can be caught it can be eaten...no matter how small.  True - Fisheries Department rules do exist regarding mesh size.  True - Fisheries Officers and their subordinates do what they can by making visits/inspections. True - protected areas in sectors of the National Park are patrolled periodically but there are some eleven million inhabitants in Malawi alone hungry for fish/protein and it has been estimated that there are some forty thousand traditional fishermen countrywide who employ some twelve thousand fishing craft. 

By way of comparison this company employs some seventeen divers with four fishing boats stationed at major fishing sites: Chilumba in the north, Nkhata Bay still in the north but south of Chilumba and Likoma/Chisumulu islands - the latter being Malawi territory in Mozambique waters.  And a team at Salima Headquarters.  These diver/fishermen catch only specific and selected varieties - the comparative statistics with the food fishing industry will speak for themselves... From the ornamental fishing point of view it has been noted by the divers/fishermen that certain sandy area dwelling fishes (relatively easily caught by repeated or non-stop food fishing seine netting operations) are becoming scarce. This food catching activity is increasingly being applied to the hitherto ignored "mbuna" - rock dwelling fishes. This trend - the heavy predation on "mbuna" by food fishermen on an ever-increasing scale is known to the authorities.

How about the environment - is it being damaged ?

In other parts of the world - notably in South East Asia - damage is being done to the coral reefs - by vast amounts of pollution from the shore.  Catching of food fishes is sometimes done by explosives - resulting in great damage. Sea corals and sea shells are plundered by collectors for sale in the local markets and coral reef fishes may be caught using chemicals which ultimately destroy the fishes - but they will live long enough to be sold to the hobbyist in the street. 

This is not the case here - in Lake Malawi there are no corals that can be damaged - there are no shells equivalent to those from the sea - fishing by electricity is not permitted by the authorities neither is fishing with chemicals and explosives are never used. Nevertheless, overfishing for food (see paragraph above) is an established fact of life as are the degradation of ecological niches and the destruction of the breeding areas resulting in significant declines in catching volumes by weight. Overfishing and degradation of the aquatic environment also occur in Zambia. There has been damage to the riverine environment in Zimbabwe and a past/continuing need for a clean-up operation in Lake Victoria.  Mention is made of these other countries/areas to show that adverse environmental trends also exist outside Malawi.

Are you able to supply world demand for Lake Malawi ornamental fishes ?

Essentially - yes! The market is not as large as might be imagined! The situation has changed radically over the past twenty-five and more years.  In the early sixties and seventies Malawi fishes were almost all new - and from the lake.  However now many countries breed Malawi fishes - and then supply them to the hobbyist markets all over the world. America is largely self-supporting vis-à-vis Malawi fishes with tens of thousands being bred in Florida, other US southern states, Utah and California.  These are shipped all over the continental United States and Canada using the wonderfully efficient air freight network that is part and parcel of living in North America. 

USA breeders also export to Europe. Singapore - Malaysia - Hong Kong - Taiwan - Thailand - the Philippines - Indonesia - Sri Lanka - Israel - all breed Malawi fishes - the list gets larger by the year... And the Czech republic is a massive breeder of all types of fishes with direct door-to-door road delivery into many parts of Europe!  This means that although wild caught Malawi material is nominally preferred in Europe it is no longer the case that all Malawi fishes come from the Lake itself. And, it must be recalled that not all aquarists wish to keep fishes from this lake - some prefer the totally different fishes from Lake Tanganyika; others prefer the cichlids (spiny finned fishes) from Central and South America; many keep salt water fishes and marine organisms; and other aquarists prefer the "standard" small conventional tropical fishes from Central and South America of which there is truly a huge range. 

In summary, therefore there exists therefore a finite moderate market for wild-caught Lake Malawi fishes which in turn calls for a finite moderate organisation to supply the requisite material without endeavouring to push or over-sell according to the prevailing market need and requirement. It is believed that the facility here at Kambiri Point has developed in accordance with and in step with this restricted market.

What countries do you currently ship to ?

Most major countries in Europe - the United States and Canada - and Japan. Occasionally research shipments are shipped to bona fide institutions or universities in the United States or the United Kingdom in conjunction with their academics.

How do you see the future of this local industry ?

The future should be assured - now that the relatively large and expensive basic infrastructure of the present facility has been established. However - like everywhere - any recessionary trends in the developed countries affect sales - and each year it is that bit harder to maintain the level of turnover. And the decline in sought-after ornamental fishes from both the sandy areas and rocky portions of the lake due to the progressively larger food fishing operations is a factor that must be increasingly taken into account.

Then there is the competition from overseas ornamental fish breeders/exporters. This is intense - with airlines shipping fishes from Florida to Europe at low rates per kilo in freight costs...Africa can never achieve such low freight charges. The future appears to lie in having a really wide spectrum of fishes that overseas breeders cannot completely match and the furnishing of material to strengthen and boost weak and vitiated blood lines in breeding establishments large and small.

The captive breeding of "all" fishes of interest to the ornamental fish trade would be quite unfeasible due to the ever-increasing number of species/varieties/colour forms that are being caught from more and more spread-out collecting sites. This trend has been encouraged greatly by quality publications that portray the very considerable array of forms of fishes found at the various and remoter locations of the lake. This reinforces the view that a continuing balanced and reasonable export of wild caught ornamental fishes is a logical and ongoing feature for the future. 

The environmentally concerned who may be unaware of the large dimensions of the local food fishing industry (together with the heavy mechanised commercial fishing operations in the south-east arm of the lake) vis-à-vis the relatively small ornamental fish operation need to recognise this fact. Conservation and restraining activities can thus best be directed at the huge number of food fishermen's spectrum of operations which is on an altogether massive and widespread scale (see "How about the environment - is it being damaged?" and "Is there any danger of overfishing?" in this paper)

Has September 11, 2001 affected your operations ?

Of course - and in an adverse sense. Additional security charges are now being applied - and a new development of "fuel surcharge" is yet another major cross that has to be carried/borne by the importer.

Are there any other trends that should be mentioned ?

(a)

(b)

How many Malawians do you employ ?

Including components of construction personnel and carpenters/boatbuilders there is a staff that fluctuates from 70 - 85 persons depending on season, workload and building programme.