Nile Perch Fishery of lake Victoria: Current status and some management measures

Introduction:

Lake Victoria is the second largest natural lake on the planet earth and the largest in Africa. The lake is shared by three countries viz Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya in the ratio of 51%, 43% and 6% respectively by area. But the fishermen commonly stray in to territory belonging to other countries. Since there is a common language link ( Kiswahili) it is a real task to check this straying. The lake is the life sustaining feature of this region. Entire population bordering the lake derives its livelihood from the lake either directly or indirectly.

The lake Victoria  has a mean depth of 40m, maximum depth of 84m, shoreline of 3,450km, a water retention time of 140 years and a catchment area of 19 4,200km2, which extends into Rwanda and Burundi. The Lake Victoria basin supports the fastest growing population in East Africa. In a way Lake Victoria defines the entire population of East Africa by its shear size and also from the fact that it is the origin of one of the branches of the river Nile. Lake Vitoria region in East Africa represents one of the most complex ecological systems in the world with being home to many a species of flora and fauna. Lake Victoria also represents one of the biggest ecological shifts in the world caused by human intervention by introducing two species of fish into this lake.

 The Lake Victoria had a multi-species fishery of over 500 endemic fish species, the dominant species being the tilapiine and haplochromines. Haplochromines were dominant in catches, but are a small bony fish, not always popular for consumption. Other important species included Bagrus spp. (catfish), Clarias spp., synodontis spp., Schilbe spp., Protopterus spp., and Labeo spp. Many of these species declined with the introduction of the Nile perch (Lates niloticus) and Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus), due to predation by Nile perch, hybridization by Nile tilapia and increasing fishing pressure.

The Nile perch is silvery with a blue tinge and has a distinctive set of big black eyes with bright yellow outer rings. It can live in any freshwater body, but it prefers warm tropical waters. The female Nile perch tends to be bigger than the male, but they're both pretty hefty fish.

 The Nile perch is an important food fish in Africa and a prized catch for sport fishermen, but the species is also a massive environmental nightmare. Value of the Nile perch is also very important due to the price of fish maws derived from this fish. Each Kg of this fish maws fetches USD 30 to anywhere up to USD 250 depending on the size. As it is a boon, the fish maws has also become the bane of Nile perch in Lake Victoria. There are many people who catch Nile perch for fish maws and simply throw the meat because of fear of being penalised for catching under sized fish. There are also unscrupulous/unlicensed processors who process these under sized fish and sell in neighbouring Rwanda and Burundi.

In fact, the Nile perch is massive in more ways than one. It's a giant among fishes, reaching a length of up to 2 metres and a weight of more than 225Kgs. Acasual discussion with locals gives the stories of how fish as big or even bigger than six feet size were being caught and seen in the market. If Nile perch being a carnivorous fish grows to that size, it consumes a lot of food and applies high pressure on the existing domestic stock of endemic species. The Fisheries story of Lake Victoria is the continuous war between Nile perch, Nile tilapia, the endemic species and the fishing pressure exerted by the fishermen accompanied by other natural causes of stock fluctuation in a freshwater habitat. The Nile perch is now common fish in fresh water bodies of many regions in Africa; in the river Nile, Chad, Senegal, Volta and Congo river basins. Very name of Nile perch evokes strong response from the conservationists so much so that it is ranked by conservationists as one of the world's 100 worst invasive species.

As it is big, the Nile perch is also a hungry fish, feeding voraciously on whichever fish comes on its way. The species is a versatile predator; a Nile perch will eat insects, crustaceans, mollusks and fish. It gobbles down bigger and bigger prey as it grows in size. When it's not eating, the Nile perch passes the time by making more Nile perch -- a lot more. Breeding and spawning peak from March to June, and a female will produce an average of 9 million offspring (most of which don't make it to maturity). The eggs take just 20 hours to hatch. Nile perch reach sexual maturity at about three years of age, and they can live for as long as 16 years.

 Nile Perch Fishing in Lake Victoria

Nile perch fishing is divided into Sports Fishing and Commercial fishing

Sports Fishing

The African Angler Web site's online fishing guide to Lake Nasser, for example, promises that "most who visit the lake for the first time will catch the largest freshwater fish of their life." Because of its voracious feeding nature and carnivorous food habits it is relatively easy to catch this fish. You can catch a young 10- to 30-pound Nile perch with lightweight tackle, but to get the big guy, you need heavier gear. Bacause Nile perch is a strong fish, we must ensure sturdy fishing gear. The African Angler  recommends tying 80-pound monofilament line directly to the lure, using a special knot. You can catch a Nile perch from shore, but it's a lot easier if you fish from a boat.

Although Nile perch is invasive fish, it should be kept in mind that this forms the bread and butter of many a fishing population in the lake. Every time a fish is being aught, it deprives food of a poor fisherman. Total landing of Nile perch in the lake has almost come down by 80% which clearly indicates how each fish can contribute to increasing fish stock and there by increased fish availability to fishermen. The big ones are the most prolific breeders, so every one of those that you toss back means more Nile perch for other fishermen to catch. Hence it is mandatory for sports fishers to release back the fish caught by them as a matter of ethics. One cannot play with the food of others.

Commercial Fishing: Lake Victoria fishery is mainly a commercial fishery, with artisanal fishers, working from canoes propelled either manually or with outboard engines.

There are three main commercial fish species in the lake:

1         Fresh  dagaa,

2         the Nile perch and

3         the Nile tilapia which is also called sato.

 The Nile perch was introduced to Lake Victoria in the 1950s and 1960s and led to the huge boom in the fisheries in the 1990s, attracting investment, more fishers and the construction of processing plants. Around 75% of the Nile perch landed is exported, mainly to Europe, the US and the Middle East, making a significant contribution to employment, income, GDP and foreign exchange.

Nile perch is the major commercial fish which has 100% export value. In a way Nile perch is the sustain force of Lake Victoria fishery. No part of Nile perch is considered a waste. The dagaa and the tilapia are also having commercial value. A number of fish landing jetties dot the entire border area of the lake Victoria. There are several resorts that cater to tourists which are established on the bank of the lake. It is a real sight to watch from these resorts during night to see the entire lake dotted with lights of the boats that go fishing.

Nile perch is caught using gill nets and hook lines both of which are classified as PASSIVE GEAR. More active fishing gear are not permitted in the lake Victoria. Like wise mechanised fishing vessels are also not allowed. Highest level of mechanisation of fishing vessels is represented by out board engines. There are fishermen who bring their catch on daily basis while there are some organised fishing efforts that have separate fishing boats and collection boats. These collection boats collect the fish caught by fishing boats and bring to the processing factories.

There are some organised Fish dealers who engage hundreds of fishermen in fishing by providing them all facilities like food, water, drinks etc. These types of arrangements run mainly in the island located far inside the lake.

Nile tilapia was also introduced to the lake in the 1950s and 1960s and mainly serves the domestic and regional markets, contributing to food security as well as income and employment. It may be recalled here that export of Tilapia is not allowed to serve the localpopulation.

Dagaa (also known as mukene and omena) is a small sardine-like fish, most of which is dried and sold either for human consumption or for animal feed. Dagaa serves the local and domestic markets, but much is exported within the region, particularly the Democratic Republic of Congo, and even to Southern Africa. Its an important fish for the poor, as it is cheap and highly nutritious.

Nile perch landing in comparison of Tilapia and dagaa landing in lake Victoria:

Stock of these three groups maintain the balance of fishing activity in the lake Victoria. Dagaa is very small and it is a herbivore. It only competes for space and oxygen while providing the food to Nile perch.

Tilapia is a herbivore and also detritivore. Competes for space. It is a prolific breeder and increases in number within a short time span. This also forms the food for the coveted nile perch.

Nile perch is the King in this lake, it competes for space, oxygen and also balances the stock level of other groups by actively feeding on them.

Human intervention in the form of fishing exerts pressure on all the three groups by fishing activity. But the highest fishing pressure is on the Nile perch in a normal scenario because of its economic value. Certain restrictions are introduced on Nile perch fishing though it is highly inadequate to balance the three groups in the lake.

Normally in the aftermath of a good rain when the primary productivity of the lake is high, the dagaa and tilapia stock goes up because of plenty of food availability. Later on when they Nile perch starts feeding on them, the catch of Nile perch increases. Usually a good rainy season , thus supports a good fishery of Nile perch. It is also observed that in a given year, if the Nile perch landing is very good, the dagaa and tilapia landing shows a decline and vice versa.

Suggested management measures and their possible impact

Fisheries management of Lake Victoria for a sustainable catch of all the major fishery

Nile perch landing in Lake Victoria has drastically come down almost by about 80% now. A documentary named Darwin’s nightmare best explains the scenario in life of people of the lake Victoria in the aftermath of collapse of Nile perch fishery in this region. Over exploitation of the fish started yielding less and less catch in subsequent years. Those people who have been accustomed to lavish life styles had to face the grim reality of coping up with lesser or no money to sustain their life style. Subsequently jobs are lost or reduced, money flow gets reduced. This has a spiralling effect on the crime rates in any geographical region and Lake Victoria basin is no exception to this rule.

Co-management of the fisheries is now being implemented, bringing fishing communities together with government to manage the fisheries – making decisions, collecting data, recommending policy and legislation and improving compliance. More information about co-management is given in Co-management of the Fisheries of Lake Victoria.

There is a perceived hesitance from the part of the administration to implement strict management measures as it may result in popular backlash. But it should be taken in right perspective because any Government has five years in office and if the measures are implemented in right earnest, five years is a long enough period to see the result. Without proper scientific measures the fishery is doomed to fail and at that time it would be certain backlash. Taking strict measures would definitely provide an opportunity to the ruling class to ride a crest of popular wave which otherwise is a certain defeat. Some of the commonly implementable measures are listed below which have to be carefully considered based on economic, social, financial impacts. Combination of two or more measures would be more practical and would yield faster results than a single measure.

1         Mesh size  and Hook size regulation: In Nile perch fishing, there is a mesh size regulation to avoid small sized fish. There is also a regulation in Lake Victoria to avoid fish bigger than a particular size. There is a regulation on the size of the hook to be used for catching Nile perch. But the major set back in this regulation is that, a bigger fish can bite a smaller hook and got caught. Mostly these fish are brought and sold instead of releasing back to the lake. This practice should change

2         Banning of certain gear and crafts: This method has been fairly successfully implemented by banning all active fishing gearto catch Nile perch. Also active crafts like trawl boats are not permitted.

3         Size regulation: Size regulation is already exisiting and its implementation should be achieved to the letter and spirit of the regulation measure

4         Complete banning of export of small sized fish maws: As discussed earlier, Maws is a precious by product of Nile perch. Even the smallest of the Maws can fetch USd 30/Kg. Hence there is a tendency among the youth and even children to go to the lake with a hook and catch a fish or two, sell their maws to the nearest Chinese trader earn one or two dollars and use it for their daily beer or whatever they need. This happens in a large scale and this practice cannot be very effectively prevented as long as there is demand for the small sized fish maws. Strict regulation is needed preventing the export of smaller sized maws( size should be decided by proper research)

5         Fishing Quota on quantum of fish caught:

There can be annual fishing quota for each country based on the share of their administrative jurisdiction of the lake which should be decided based on the annual landing of previous 5 years. This may not succeed because of disagreement among the riparian countries

6         Fishing bans: Fishing bans may be implemented or Fishing holidays maybe declared to conserve the stock by adapting a suitable fishing ban program

·        Total ban for a specific period

·        Closed fishing seasons

·        Fishing ban in alternate weeks

·        Fishing may be permitted only during certain days in a month.

Success of this program depends mainly on the willingness of the enforcement authority and as such the willingness from the Government is much desired in this regard.

7         Creating alternate employment opportunities to wean away fishermen: This is a long term measure which requires very good planning and implementation in phases with help from international agencies. Main goal here is to provide alternate means of earning to the people through skill development, financial assistance and by providing marketing avenues. Manufacturing sector should be strengthened so that scope for alternate employment increases. Some of the more proven and easy means to wean away the fishermen are

·        Agriculture

·        Poultry

·        Dairy

·        Fish culture

·        Sheep rearing

·        Integrated farming practices

8         Education to fisherfolk and their children: This again is a long term strategy where children will be educated and that is other way to wean people away from fishing.

9         Establishing export processing zones to export the produce from these new farmers by providing proper infrastructure and offering easy access to different markets and establish farmers’ cooperatives. This again is a long term strategy where the Government involvement is very much required planning on larges scale is desired.

CONCLUSION

First assault on the ecosystem had happened with the first human intervention in the form of introduction of Nile perch and Nile tilapia to the lake Victoria. This had become a blessing to the local economy at the cost of ecology and zoogeography of the lake. Once the export of Nile perch was well established, the economy started growing in the region and supporting industries started taking root. Just when everything was going right, the overfishing pressure started collapsing the catch and the export business started declining. This is the second human intervention that has caused the damage this time to the people directly.

Having done the first damage and we are not in a position to reverse it, it is better to maintain the status quo by managing the fishery of Nile perch so that the economy of the region is not allowed to slip further.

A coordinated effort from the three riparian nations, all the fishermen, Governing bodies, research institutions, International funding agencies is required to plan a sustainable fishery by keeping the socio economical political and cultural interests of the lake region in mind. Let there be a good beginning and happy continuation.