Benin is characterized by a fairly dense hydrographic network, belonging to two major basins: the Niger basin in the north and the coastal basin in the south. The coast is sandy and straight and extends over 120 km, with a continental shelf of 3,100 km 2 trawling over 2,700 km 2. Its production was estimated at 10300 tons in 1998. Inland fishing has remained poorly developed in the North while in the South we have seen significant overexploitation of bodies of water in general in the last decade. Annual production is estimated at 30,000 tons. This overexploitation of the bodies of water in southern Benin is marked by an increase in sedentary fisheries (dams, acacia parks, fish holes) and the use of devastating devices, regardless of regulatory texts. To curb this lawless and abusive exploitation, a national fishing committee is set up and involves several ministerial institutions and representatives of fishermen and NGOs, under the coordination of the Directorate of Fisheries. A method of actively participating fisheries management is currently in practice. Fishing committees are formed for this purpose and for each body of water and are involved in various hot tasks of the day. These include:

• The fight against erosion by reforesting shorelines
• The fight against pollution
• Compliance with fishing regulations
• The ban on sedentary fisheries on some bodies of water and their reorganization on others
• Respect for the areas reserved for each fishing category.

This new approach to fisheries and biodiversity management will certainly be reinforced by quality education and the wide dissemination of new approaches to documentation on ichthyological resources (FishBase), modeling and simulation of aquatic ecosystems (Ecopath/ Sim), developed at ICLARM.