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 km2 trawling over 2,700 km2. 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 bodies of water in southern Benin is marked by an increase in sedentary fisheries (dams, acadjas parks, fish holes) and the use of devastating devices, regardless of regulatory texts. To curb this lawless and abusive exploitation, a national fisheries committee is set up and involves several ministerial institutions and representatives of fishermen and NGOs, under the coordination of the Directorate of Fisheries. A participatory fisheries management method is currently being used. Fishing committees are formed for this purpose for each body of water and are involved in various hot tasks of the day. These include:

• Fight against erosion by reforesting the banks.
• Fight against pollution or compliance with fishing regulations.
• The prohibition of sedentary fisheries on certain bodies of water and their reorganization on others or the respect of the areas reserved for each category of fishing.
• 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.