Add to ORKGSmall-scale fisheries research on a system as complex as that of the Central Delta of the Niger River in Mali requires an approach combining qualitative and quantitative investigations. The field study presented in this paper is part of a series of social science monographs carried out within a multidisciplinary research project. The socio-economic inquiries focus on the fishermen's strategy and their response to drought. This affects both agricultural and fisheries resources and compromises the units' reproduction. This situation engenders a conflict between the necessity for productive investment and the satisfaction of essential needs. (Résumé d'auteur