A report of the fisheries catch assessment survey (CAS) in the Ugandan waters of Lake Victoria for July 2005

This report presents findings of the first CAS in the Ugandan waters following the agreed SOPs, carried out in July 2005. The findings indicate a total fish catch of 15,047.5 t for July 2005, contributed by Mukene/Dagaa (39.5%), Nile perch (33.1%), Tilapias (17.1%), Haplochromines (9.2%) and other fish species 1.2%. This information gives a new perspective of the estimates of fish production in the Ugandan waters of the lake which are based on field observations. Continuation of support to the CAS programme will certainly get rid of the uncertainties about the fish production levels of the lake which have been there for a long time. This information is vital for fisheries development and fisheries management endeavours.

Report on Lake Wamala fisheries catch assessment survey 2012

Lake Wamala is one of the small lakes in Uganda, and lies between latitudes 0o 15; and 0o 25' N 31o 45' to longitude 32o 00' E, longitude and at an altitude of 1000m above sea level. Following ths 1961 heavy rains the lake expanded from about 100 to 118 sq. km and the swamps covered almost 60 sq km (Okaranon 1993). This lake was first stocked with Oreohromis niloticus eduardianus populary known as Oreohromis niloticus then Oreochromis leucostictus and then Tilapia zillii then after that it was officially opened for commercial fishing in 1960. Despite of the commercial fishery there used to be subsistance fishing that was mainly by the use of wires and hooks and targeted the Clarias and Protopterus species. The lake fishery used to be highly profitable after the opening in 1960; though in 1970s the fishers started complaining of the declining state of the fishery. At that time the O. niloticus had gone down to less than 1 kg per net per night by 1975 (Okaranon 1993). Due to it led to scientists undertake fisheries surveys in 1975/78 and later 1988/92 then later on there subsquent survey in 2003. Since that time there has been no work done until March 2012 that both catch assessment and frame surveys undertaken to ensure that management issues are addressed concerning this riparian water body. The main objectives of the survey were:- To assess fish production levels in the commercial fisheries of Lake Wamala (Catch Assessment). To assess the fishing effort and facilities available at the fish landings that supports the fisher folks.

Monthly patterns in physico-chemical conditions and fish catch in the immediate vicinity of the Bujagali hydropower construction site 29th September - 28th October 2007

The specific objectives were to: WATER QUALITY 1. To measure the water physical variables as indicators of environmental conditions in the upstream and downstream transects of Kalange (1) and Buyala (2), respectively, 2. To determine the concentrations of total suspended solids as a major constituent likely to be released into the waters at any time during the construction activities, by comparing the concentrations at the two transects. FISH CATCH 1. To follow up trends in fish catch as construction activity progresses, and to precision of the estimate; 2. To estimate the prevailing fish catch rates, total fish catches and the total value of the fish catch to the local fishers at the two transects.

Report of the catch assessment survey: fishery survey of Kyoga Lakes August 1990 - March 1991

This report presents the information obtained during catch assessment surveys made by the ADP Fishery Survey of Lake Kyoga and Lake Kwania between August 1990 and July 1991. It supersedes previous interim reports on these surveys. The Kyoga lakes had not been surveyed in a long time. Information on the state of the stocks was largely confined conclusions drawn from data collected along the southern shore of L.Kyoga proper. The effect of harmful/illegal gear types on the stocks was not documented. Part I provides a description of the survey. Part II comprises a review of the fishing strategies. Parts III and IV present the principal results obtained on L.Kyoga and L.Kwania. Part V presents a discussion of the main conclusions.

Analysis of fish catch data from 1985 to 1994 in the Kenyan inshore marine waters

Fish landing data collected by the Kenyan Fisheries Department from the nearshort coastal marine waters from 1985 to 1994 were statistically analyzed to determine trends in the traditional fisher's catch. Over the ten year period a significant decline occurred for total catch and for catches of seven commercially important fish families: Lethrinidae, Siganidae. Lutjanidae, Scaridae, Carangidae, Scombridae and Mullidae. 1994 registercd the lowest catch over ten years. The total catch for all the fish declined from a mean annual catch of 6150 metric tonnes in the 1980's to a mean of 5141 metric tonnes in the 1990's with the catch for 1986 being 2 times higher than that of 1994. Although Mombasa district had the highest mean annual landing, its total landings like that of Lamu and Kwale districts decreased over the years. However, Kilifi district showed a steady increase in catches over the years. The changes in fish landings is thought to be caused by lack of appropriate fishing regulations, leading to overfishing of the lagoonal reefs beyond their maximum sustainable yields.

Catch assessment survey of Uganda waters

The Artisanal Fisheries Rehabilitation Project (AFRP) Uganda Freshwater Fisheries Research Organisation (UFFRO) Survey was conducted during January - March 1989. The aim of the survey was to evaluate the impact of the AFRP on the national fisheries, assessing the current catch levels, and determining the socio-economic position of the fishermen. On the catch assessment, the survey collected information more specifically on the following: (i) Fish production in Uganda by major species groups. (li) Size structure of the harvested fish. (iii) Catch per unit of effort (CPUE) for the major fish species.

The effect of hook size on the catch rate and size of the Nile perch Lates niloticus (Linne) fishery in the Napoleon Gulf, Lake Victoria, Uganda

This study was undertaken in Napoleon gulf, Lake Victoria Uganda from July – December 2009. It was conducted in four landing sites; Bukaya (0.41103N, 33.19133E), Bugungu (0.40216N, 33.2028E), Busana (0.39062N, 33.25228E) and Kikondo (0.3995N, 33.21848E) all from Buikwe district (Formerly part of Mukono district). The main aim was to determine the effect of both hook size and bait type on the catch rate (mean weight) and size composition of Nile perch (Lates niloticus) (LINNE) fishery in the Napoleon Gulf, Lake Victoria. The main hook sizes investigated during the experiment were 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 that were dominantly used in harvesting Nile perch in Napoleon Gulf, Lake Victoria. In this study length, weight and bait type data were collected on site from each boat at that particular fishing spot; since most fishermen in the Napoleon Gulf could sell their fish immediately the catch is caught there and then. The results indicated a total of 873 Nile perch fish samples collected during the study. Statistical tests, descriptive statistics, regression and correlation were all carried out using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) in addition to Microsoft excel. The bait types in the Gulf ranged from 5-10 cm Total length (TL) haplochromine, 24.5-27 cm TL Mormyrus kannume and 9-24 cm TL Clarias species. The bait types had a significant effect on the catch rate and also on the size composition the fish harvested measured as Total length (ANCOVA F=8.231; P<0.05) despite the fact that bait type had no influence on mean weight of fish captured (ANCOVA F=2.898; P>0.05). Hook sizes used by the fishers had a significant effect on the both the size (TL) composition (ANCOVA F=3.847; P<0.05) and the mean weight (ANCOVA F=4.599; P<0.005) of the Nile perch captured. Investigations indicated hook sizes seven (7) and eight (8) were the ones that harvested the Nile perch above the slot size of 50 cm total length. In general hook sizes indicated to be the main drive in the harvesting of the Nile perch though bait type also contributed toward that. Generally there is need for management to put a law in place on the minimum hook size to be used on the harvesting of the Nile perch and also monitored by the Fisheries Management as a regulatory measure. In addition to that aquaculture should be encouraged to farm the fish for bait at a higher scale in the region in order to avoid depleting the wild stocks already in danger of extinction. Through this kind of venture, both biodiversity conservation and environmental sustainability will be observed in the Lake Victoria basin.