~ 102 ~ ISSN Print: 2394-7500 ISSN Online: 2394-5869 Impact Factor: 5.2 IJAR 2020; 6(4): 102-108 www.allresearchjournal.com Received: 18-02-2020 Accepted: 20-03-2020 Basile Masua Tchomba Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, University of Kinshasa (UNIKIN), B.P. 190 Kinshasa XI, D.R. Congo Willy Lusasi Swana Laboratory of Limnology, Hydrobiology and Aquaculture, Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Kinshasa (UNIKIN), B.P. 190 Kinshasa XI, D.R. Congo Clément Munganga Kilingwa Laboratory of Limnology, Hydrobiology and Aquaculture, Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Kinshasa (UNIKIN), B.P. 190 Kinshasa XI, D.R. Congo Patricia Wumba Mbumba Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, University of Kinshasa (UNIKIN), B.P. 190 Kinshasa XI, D.R. Congo Santos Kavumbu Mutanda Laboratory of Limnology, Hydrobiology and Aquaculture, Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Kinshasa (UNIKIN), B.P. 190 Kinshasa XI, D.R. Congo Victor Pwema Kiamfu Laboratory of Limnology, Hydrobiology and Aquaculture, Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Kinshasa (UNIKIN), B.P. 190 Kinshasa XI, D.R. Congo Correspondence Willy Lusasi Swana Laboratory of Limnology, Hydrobiology and Aquaculture, Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Kinshasa (UNIKIN), B.P. 190 Kinshasa XI, D.R. Congo Inventory of fresh fish marketed in the markets of Kinshasa in the democratic republic of Congo (case of the Gambela and Matete markets). Basile Masua Tchomba, Willy Lusasi Swana, Clément Munganga Kilingwa, Patricia Wumba Mbumba, Santos Kavumbu Mutanda and Victor Pwema Kiamfu Abstract This study is based on the inventory of fresh fish sold in the markets of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, including the markets of Gambela and Matete with the general objective of establishing a list of the species of fish sold in these two markets. The surveys carried out on the two study sites covered 250 fresh fish sellers. After processing and analysis of the data, the results obtained show that the fish sold in the two markets are diversified. A total of 7 orders, 14 families, 16 genera and 20 species of local and imported fresh fish were inventoried. At the order level, our results show that the Siluriformes and Perciformes orders are the most abundant (with 30.8% respectively) followed by the Osteoglossiformes order (15.4%). Concerning families, Cyprinidae fishes are the majority (with 17.6%) followed by Carangidae (with 11.8%). Concerning the most sold fish species, it emerged that imported fresh fish (Trachurus capensis with 53.7% and Sardina madarensis with 13.9%) are the most sold compared to local fresh fish ( Protopterus doloi with 10%, Parachanna obscura with 5.33% and Clarias spp with 4.89%). In terms of consumption, households consume more than two thirds of the fresh fish sold in the Gambela and Matete markets in Kinshasa. Keywords: Fresh fish, consumption, nutrition, food self-sufficiency, kinshasa 1. Introduction Despite the fact that fish are now exposed to several risks of contamination from various discharges of pollutants into aquatic ecosystems (Ngbolua et al., 2018) [12] , consumers are increasingly interested in fish and other fishery resources from aquaculture and capture fisheries because of their nutritional value and health benefits (FAO, 2013) [6] . Fish provides a complete set of nutrients with a unique composition, including fatty acids, amino acids, micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) as well as many lesser-known nutrients (Kaushik, 2014) [7] . In addition to their great interest in food, fish are also useful in a variety of other areas. They can be used as bio-indicators (Diomandé et al., 2001) [3] . Employment in the fisheries and aquaculture sector has grown faster than the world population. Approximately 45 million people work directly in the sector. In addition, many people work in important secondary sectors, such as handling and processing, where women make up more than half of the workforce. Overall, taking into account the dependants of these workers, fisheries and aquaculture support the livelihoods of some 540 million people, or 8% of the world's population (FAO, 2011) [5] . In Africa, more than 200 million people consume fish that is regularly fresh, but also smoked or dried (Mananga et al., 2019) [10] . In the Democratic Republic of Congo, three quarters of fish production is consumed fresh, while the rest is smoked, dried or salted before being sold to the country's various markets. The consumption of fish is anchored in the culinary recipes of many ethnic groups in the D.R. Congo and is prepared in more than a dozen dishes. For some Congolese, fish and fish products are important sources of food and essential nutrients. They yield up to 48.8% of the proportion of animal protein (Nzapo et al., 2018) [13] , contribute directly to food self-sufficiency and, play an essential role in food security, the fight against poverty and also contribute to social welfare through trade and exports (Lusasi et al., 2019) [9] . International Journal of Applied Research 2020; 6(4): 102-108