At the Extravaganza 2009, the OCA donated $1000 from it’s Jim Smith Fund for the Stuart M Grant Cichlid Conservation Fund under the stewardship of Ad Konings. It was the second donation of this kind, after the OCA had already contributed $1,000 to the same cause in December 2008. The money will support local people in Malawi in their efforts of protecting cichlid populations in Lake Malawi against irresponsible and illegal overfishing (‘ANDs Project’).

Many thanks to all OCA members, and others attending our events, who have supported the OCA’s activities to raise money for the Jim Smith Fund.

Ad Konings (middle) receiving a check from Dan Woodland (left) and Don Danko (right), with Kyle May at the podium and OCA members applauding enthusiastically.

In November 2009, just before the OCA Extravaganza, Ad Konings provided a video update on the ANDs project:

What is the OCA Jim Smith Fund?

I am from a generation of OCA members who did not actually know Jim Smith personally, but I sure have heard a lot about him. ‘Father Christmas’ is usually mentioned when long time OCA members talk about him, and big smiles appear on people’s faces whenever his name comes up – the kind of smile that you usually see when people reminisce about fond childhood memories. Jim is said to have been great with kids – he even taught the kids of some OCA members to color, count, and read. Many people found a true friend in him. He was a key board member of the OCA for about a decade, and under his watch OCA membership grew to over 250 – the largest ever! Jim passed away in 2003, and in that same year the OCA established a fund with the intention of supporting cichlid research, education and conservation projects. A general meeting unanimously agreed to name this fund Jim Smith Fund in honor of the late OCA membership chairman.

What is the ANDs Project?

By December 2008 over $5000 had accumulated in the Jim Smith Fund, with former OCA vice president and current program chairman Dan Woodland being the champion for the fund-raising activities. At the same time, an excellent opportunity presented itself to contribute to a low-cost, high-impact cichlid conservation project, the Stuart M Grant Cichlid Conservation Fund under the stewardship of Ad Konings. Ad explains all the details about the project on his excellent web site, in addition to showing lots of photos and even video footage. In a nutshell, the project is about supporting local people in Malawi in their efforts of protecting cichlid populations in Lake Malawi against irresponsible and illegal overfishing.

This is done in a part of the Lake that became a National Park in 1980 and a World Heritage Area in 1983. Fishing is forbidden in this area, but local authorities lack the means to enforce this with the result that nets have uprooted and eliminated entire populations of water plants. This, in turn, has lead to the virtual disappearance of sand dwelling cichlids, and the rock dwelling cichlids were threatened as well, because the illegal fishing targeted them next. In 2006 a group of Malawians called Waterlands received Government funding to develop and employ Anti Netting Devices (ANDs) that would hinder the illegal fishermen from pulling a net at any point in the no-fishing zone. The ANDs consist of an anchor, a steel cable, and a floating device that catches the net. Since October 2007 about 150 ANDs have been in service, and they have proven to the remarkably effective – water plant and fish populations are recovering in the protected areas, which benefits even those local fishermen who are allowed to fish beyond the 100 meter boundary of the Park. They have commented that there seem to be more fish around again.

Anti netting device (AND) installed in the lake (top), and cichlids in their natural habitat in Lake Malawi. Photos in this paragraph courtesy of Ad Konings.

The ANDs cost about $13 per piece to produce, and it is estimated that 2000 of them would be needed to protect the entire shoreline of the park – a cost of about $26,000. In December 2008, the OCA Board agreed to contribute $1,000 from the Jim Smith fund to this cause.

Please continue to support the OCA Jim Smith Fund!

The OCA will keep up with fund-raising activities like auctions and raffles at meetings and events to benefit the Jim Smith Fund. Please continue to support these efforts so that we can help to fund cichlid research, education, and conservation projects in the future!