LAKE ALBERT FISHERIES RESOURCES AND THEIR MANAGEMENT ... · 1 LAKE ALBERT FISHERIES RESOURCES AND THEIR MANAGEMENT STRATEGY T.O. ACERE Uganda Freshwater Fisheries Research Organization,

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LAKE ALBERT FISHERIES RESOURCES AND THEIR MANAGEMENT STRATEGY

T.O. ACERE

Uganda Freshwater Fisheries Research Organization,

P.O.Box 343, JINJA, Uganda.

And

P. MWENE-BEYANGA

Ministry of Animal Industry & Fisheries,

Planning Department,

P.O. BOX 70003,

KAMPALA, Uganda.

TECHNICAL CONSULTATION MEETING ON LAKES EDWARD AND

ALBERT/MOBUTU BETWEEN ZAIRE AND UGANDA.

21-26 MAY 1990, KAMPALA, UGANDA.

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INTRODUCTION

Lake Albert/Mobutu lies along the Zaire-Uganda border in 43/57 per cent ratio in the faulted

depression tending south-west to the north east. It is bounded by latitudes 1o0 n to2

o 20’ N and

longitudes 30o 20’ to 31

o 20’E.

It has a width varying from 35 to 45 km (22 to 28 miles) as measured between the scarps at the

lake level. It covers an area of 5600km2 and has a maximum depth of 48m.The major inflow is

through the Semiliki, an outflow of Lake Edward, Muzizi and Victoria Nile draining lakes

Victoria and Kyoga while the Albert Nile is the outflow. The physical, chemical and biological

productivity parameters are summarized in Table 1.

The scarp is steep but not sheer and there are at least 4 tracks leading down it to villages on the

shore and scarp land scarp is a young one, formed as a result of earth movements of the

Pleistocene times, and the numerous streams come down headlong down its thousand feet drop,

more often than not in falls (Baker, 1954). Sometimes there appears to be a clean fault; and at

other places there is the appearrence of step faulting, although this may be of only a superical

nature .The escarpment’s composed of rocks belonging to the pre-Cambrian Basement complex

of the content; but the floor of the depression is covered with young sedimentary rocks, known

as kaiso beds. In their upper part these latter beds contains many pebbles; whilst low down the

occurrence fossiliferous beds is sufficiently rare phenomenon in the interior plateau of Africa.

The kaiso beds dated as possibly middle Pleistocene in age, are exposed in various flats on the

shore, and they presumably extend under the relatively shallow waters of the lake.

A feature of the shore is the development of sandpits and the enclosure of lagoons;

and these can be observed in various stages of development at kaiso, Tonya, kibiro, Buhuka and

above all, at Butiaba. On an island lake over 1100 km (700 miles) from the shores of the Indian

Ocean one can thus study some of the shore-line phenomena usually associated with the sea-

coast (Worthington, 1929). In the north, from Butiaba onwards, the flats become wider and from

a continuous lowland as the lake shore curves away from the straight edge of the escarpment.

At a height of just 610m (2000 feet) above sea-level, the rift valley floor at Butiaba

has a mean annual temperature of 25.60c (780 f), from which there is virtually no seasonal

variation; and and the mean daily range is only6.50c (130f) (E.Afr. met. Dept.1953).With a mean

annual rainfall of not much more than 762mm (309 inches) and only 92 rain days in ayear,again

to judge from Butiaba, conditions in the rift valley are semi-arid; and the vegetation cover

consists of grasses and scattered drought-resisting trees and bushes. Only near the stream courses

does the vegetation thicken.

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The itchthyofauna of lake Albert/Mobutu comprises 47 species belonging to 28 genera seperable

into 14 families (GreenWood, 1966). The lake is rich endemic species such as lates niloticus. In

the late 1920s species of the most economic valve in order of importance included Lates

niloticus, Citharinus citherus, Oreochromis niloticus, Bargrus, Sarotherodon gailaeus,

distochodus niloticus docmac, Bagrus bayad, Labeo horie, Alestes Baremose, Hydrocynus

forskahlii,Synodontis schall and mormyrus castile (Worthington,1929 and Holden, 1963).Some

of the species have declined in artisanal catches, whilst others are rarely caught. The earlier

workers(Worthington,1929,1929a,1929b,1932; Trewavas 1933, 1938,1983; Gudger,1944;

argaca,1948;Johnels,1956;Andrerson,1956;Lowe-McConnell,1957;

Greenwood,1955,1957,1966,1971,1976; Greenwood and Howes,1975; Hamlyn,1960a,

1961,1966; Gee,1964,1969; Greenwood 1964,1964a; Stoneman and Cadwalldr,1966; Holden

,1967,1970: midgley,1968; khalil,1973; Khalil and Thurston,1973; Paperna, 1973, Paperna and

Thurston ,1969; Thurston ,1969,1970,1976a; graham, 1986) have dealt with aspects which were

mostly descriptive biology of the fish species and other related aspects . How ever the most

comprehensive study towards management based exploitation was by Holden (1939a). Other

works were carried out in the Zaire part of the lake by other scientists (Regan, 1921, 1929; poll,

1939, 1939a; Daget, 1950 1962; Hulot, 1956; Voss, 1969; etc).

FISHERIES

Lake Albert/mobutu is connected to Lake Edward by northward flowing semliki river

whose rapids, whoever, prevent free passage between the two lakes .the two lakes show marked

faunistic differences. Lake Albert/mobutu contains several non –cichlids which absent from Lake

Edward and even the cichlid fauna of the two lakes is strikingly different. in lake Albert /Mobutu

there are four species of tilapiines, the biparental brooder ,sarotherodon galilaeus, the mouth

brooders oreochromis niloticus and o. leucostictus and the substratum spawner, tilapia zillii.

The long almost parallel sides of the lake are so precipitous that over most of their

length there is a virtual absence of a shallow littoral zone, and the Tilapiine populations are very

largely confined to shallow lagoons such as those at Butiaba, Buhuka and Tonya. Steeply

shelving shores act as a barrier to species of tilapiines involved, and effective colonization of the

lake proper has not been possible (pitman, 1936). According to pitman (1936) and Worthington

(1929) Lake Albert Mobutu did not support a Tilapiine fishery in the economic sense, as it

contributed only about 2.6 per cent of the fishery, the mainstay of the fishery in ecological and

economic terms being the zooplankton-feeding characid, Alestes baremose.

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Lake Albert/Mobutu was rich in fish, of which mputa or Nile Perch (Lates niloticus),

Mpoi, (Distochodus) and Ngenge (Oreochromis niloticus and Sarotherodon galilaeus) were some

of the most important varieties, but on the Uganda side the resources were under-exploited

(Baker, 1954). Large numbers and specimens of Nile perch which had been scarce for months

were caught particularly by beach seines with the advent of Nile perch caught in March. An

exceptionally large example of Nile perch caught in 1939 was 93.6kg (206 1bs) and later in the

year 118.0kg (260 1bs). These large specimens have continued to be caught to the present time.

The catch statistics indicate that this multi-speciesf fishery has been sustained around

13,000 tonnes per annum (Table 2 and fig. 2). However, during the last 70 years of exploitation

some fish species, such as Distochodus spp., Labeo sp. And Citharinus spp, have drastically

declined or are almost non- existent. In the late 1920s the catch per net night was1.4, 2.3, 3.0 and

2.1 catharinus in 76.2mm, 127mm, 178m and 22.6mm mesh gillnet respectively compared to 0.0

at present. The fish catches have been affected by war conditions and shortage of fishing gears at

one time or another.

FISHING METHODS AND GEARS

Fishing is the job of men and the women are occupied in fish processing at home. Early

fishing methods were of various types. At Butiaba they consisted of the following according to

Worthington (1929).

i) Harpooning large fish chiefly catfish, Bagrus spp.wascarried out from canoes. The harpoon

was attached to a line which one end was held by the fisherman, so that, if hurled at a fish in

deepwater, the harpoon could be recovered easily.

ii) Catching ngege in the Waki River, when in spate employed baskets. Each basket was

conical, widely open at the base with small hand hole at the apex. It was placed over a fish in

shallow water and the captured fish extracted through the the hand hole.

iii) Trapping in the narrow channels leading to the lagoons below Butiaba was done with traps

which were of basket work, with re-entrant mouths. They captured large numbers of Tilapiines

during the heavy rains.

iv) Headline fishing for catfish, Tilapiines and other species was a method of major importance.

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The fishing practiced at the villages situated south of Butiaba was as follows:

1) At kibero there used to be a considerable fishery supplementary to salt industry, by 1928

fishing was only practised by small boys who caught Tilapiines on handlines,baited with

filamentous green algae(Worthington, 19 29). Earlier, fishing occupied the men folk and salt

continued (Roscoe,1923). However, although the making of salt continued to be of relative

importance of this village industry, it suffered a decline in 1950s (Baker, 1954).

ii) At Buhuka in 1928 there was a flourishing fishing population which had only returned to the

lake shore during the previous few years due to the former closure of the Buhuka flats as

sleeping sickness area. The usual method was hand-line fishing from canoes. Bundles of grass or

brushwood (a) were anchored to the bottom in 6 to 10 metres of water, about 1km (half a mile)

from the shore. Each morning these were hauled to the surface by lines buoyed with branches

from the ambatch tree (Herminiera eleapchroxylon) tree which grows in a few of water close to

the shore, usually in sheltered situation, whose wood when dry has a specific gravity

considerably less than cork. Small fish, haplchromis Albertans (b) and very young mputa (lates)

were extracted form the bundles, which they entered, no doubt to seek shelter from the ngassa,

Hydrocynus, which abounded in those waters. The small fish were used as live bait on handiness

(c) for the capture of tiger fish, Hydrocynus(d). The triggerfish when caught, was immediately

transferred to a heavy hook on a stout line (e), of lates (f). In practice lates were not often caught

in that way, but a morning’s catch would include 10 or 20 tiger fishes. Long-lines of heavy

hooks for lates fishing were also employed at Buhuka to a less extend.

Iii) At Tonya those same methods were employed and in addition, when the Hoima River was

in spate, large numbers of mail, clarias spp. were speared in the muddy water.

iv) At Kaiso there were but few fishermen; they caught Hydrocynus triggerfish on handiness.

The fishermen of panymur, at northern-western end of the lake, were more active; they employed

long-lines, each was fitted with 10 very heavy iron hooks for the capture perch. The hooks were

bated with live fish, about 23cm (9 inches) long, which obtained from basket traps set among the

papyrus and swamps of the Victoria Nile mouth. The catfish, Eutropius niloticus, was the usual

bait and the catch by this method was about one large Nile perch for each long-line of 10 hooks

set.

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SEINE NET

The seine was the only type of European gear used round the Uganda shore (Worthington,

1929). The seine net was probably introduced on the lake before 1919 (Roscoe, 1923;

Worthington,1929).It was a net about 90m (100 yards) long by 3m(10 feet) deep of mesh76mm

(3 inches), and made of stout hemp twine. Its cost (between shs 120/- and shs 230/- in

Kampala)was prohibitive to most native fishermen, with the result that time there were not more

than 12 such nets on the lake. There were 6 seine net at Butiaba,2 at Bugungu and 3 or 4 at

panymur. They were owned by Swahili and Banyoro natives (Worthington 1929).Currently there

are very many beach seines, some of which are over 1 kilometre long and are owned by one or

more individuals.

The numer of fish per haul of a seine varied with local conditions from a very few up to

several hundred. The species usually in abundance were in the following order, Hydrocynus,

Alestes, Labeo, Tilapiines and lates .The lates caught by a usually represented but in small

numbers.

In 1928 seine –nets were by far the most important method of fishing in Uganda I waters,

there also being a few 127 mm (5-inch) gillnets in use at the time. The seine-net remained the

most important gear until early 1950s. In 1949 there were 102 camps operating seine-nets, but

only 13 camps from which 128 fishermen, some sharing canoes and not employing more than

one assistant each operated gill-nets. In 1952 an estimated 58 per cent of the total catch was

landed by seine-net. In 1953 seine-nets accounted for only 27 per cent of total annual catch.

Currently the catch form beach seines is well over 50% of the total artisanal production.

By 1954 the native fishermen were using a type of seine net which was made from the fibres of

old motor car tyres.Currently seine net are made of synthetic webbings.

GILL-NETS

In 1927 a gillnet fishery on a very large scale was started near kasenyi, in the Zaire

(Belgian Congo), the proceeds of which were dried and transported inland to feed labourers at

kilomoto mines. The area fished forms the part of the semilki delta on the then Belgian side of

the lake. The water of that area is very shallow, little of the it being more than about5 4or 5

metres in-depth .the nets in use were 203.2 mm (8-inch) mesh and were set at night. Large

numbers of canoes, stationed near kasenyi, and a motor launch were used for this fishery, and

very many nets were set each night (Worthington, 1929).

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Before the introduction of nylon gill-net in early 1950s, the commonly used nets were

the127 mm(5-inch)nets made of flax and locally known as Ssesse nets,76.2mm(3-inch)nets and

203.2mm (8-inch) nets made locally from cord of old motor tyres and sisal twine. Short lengths

of 406.4 mm (16-inch) nets were made in 1960sfrom synthetic twine at Ntoroko and Wanseko to

catch the larger lates sp of up to and over 91 kg (200 ib).

At present gillnets as small as 38mm (1.5-inch) are in use cropping very small and

immature Alestes. Tables4, 5, 6 and 7 give catch characteristics of different mesh sizes at present

in use.

VILLAGES

The sitting of fishing villages was determined by the sand pits and cusps, for which

prevalent winds from the south-west, sometimes accompanied by seas of considerable size, both

of the splits The major landings were Ntoroko, Buhku,Kaisa.Tonya,Kibiro,Butiaba,Bugoigo and

Wanseko. Currently there are at least 174 fishing villages, 17 of them each having up to 9

canoers, 37 villages each with 10to20 canoes and 20villages each with over 21 canoes. Bugoigo

has the largest canoe population, 78 in number and kabukanga, kyampanga and songa-Rau the

smallest each having 4 canoes.

CANOES

In a survey conducted in 1949 there were 128 fishermen operating gill-nets with not more

than assistant and often sharing canoes. Licensing of canoes first started in August 1950, and

although Licensing was never complete in any one year in total number operating on the lake.

The canoes have been increasing from 128 Licensed canoes in 1949 to around 1349 in 1989

(Table 8).

Kabalega canoe

The Kabalega canoe is named after the former kabalega Technical school in Masindi

transferred first to kichwamba outside fort portal and finally in 1967 to Entebbe fisheries

Training Institute. The Kabalega canoe is based on the tranditional planked Ssesse canoe of Lake

Victoria. The Kabalega, however, was designed for outboard motor propulsion and is built on a

much wider beam, has a double chine, and planks were copper-fastened on sawn frames. It was

first built in 1955, and they are now built by a number of progressive, trained boat- builders at

Wanseko and Masindi.

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Congo Barque Canoe

The Congo barque canoe is aplanked, flat bottom vessel fastened with iron nails about 5-7

metres (15-20 feet) long, and was first sold to Ugandan fishermen from Kasenyi for shush 300 to

shs 400. This type of canoe soon proved popular as it was better suited to the rough conditions

often encountered on the lake than a dugout, and is far cheaper than a Kabalega or imported

sesse canoe. They were made by itinerant carpenters at various points along the lake shore and

for shs 1000 in 1965s.

Sesse canoe

The Sesse canoe in use in the early 1950s by fishermen from Buganda region who settled at

Kibiro, but in early 1965 only a very small number of them were recorded in a few villages. The

Sesse canoe is sometimes made along the lake shore from local materials, and a canoe is

imported occasionally from Lake Victoria. Soon after the introduction of the of the kabalega

canoe, a 5-7 metre (16-20 feet) craft modeled after English west-country inshore fishing vessels

was introduced as a product of the boat- building course at Kabalega Technical School Although

these crafts were in many ways better suited for the lake by 1966 they had not yet proved

popular.

The replacement of the dug- out by more advanced canoes was at first slow, but with the

existence of firms turning out several planked canoes per year, and the fact that no more dug-

outs have been made around the lake since 1963,the process became more rapid. The average

cost of a dug-out in 1953 was shs420.The large trees suitable for dug-out manufacture are now

difficult to obtain, and as a consequence fewer dug-outs are being made.

FISH MARKETING

Pitman (1936) recorded that an endeavor to develop fish –buying centre in specified

localities had met with little encouragement from the local fishermen, but that did not necessarily

imply that the scheme was deemed to failure, for the (native) fisherman was notoriously a slow

mover and normally averse from any change, especially of a sudden nature, in his mode of life

and methods.

However, in 1939 the African conducted fisheries a long the lake coast in Bunyoro

benefited enormously from the activities of a European who was permitted to undertake

systematic marketing. The European acted as a buying agent for the dried commodity which

ensured the fisherman a regular market for his produce and stimulated effort.

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The experience gained in many years emphasized the fact that this inshore fishery was

strictly limited and that it could no support organized commercial fishing on a large scale, so was

best left to African hands. In 1939, however, 65.99 tons dried fish were exported to the Belgian

Congo, against 4.125 tons in 1938. By 1950s at Tonya the fish was dried and then sold mainly to

then Congo where there was a demand for it as food for the labourers of the kilo-Moto mines.

The fishermen in 1950s used to take fish in their own canoes directly to Kasenyi. Or they would

send it first to Butaiba ,whence it went by steamer service to mahagi port or kasneyi.Fish was

sold too in the plateau hinter land, for example at Hoima market, in exchange for other

consumer goods, but some household utensils were brought in from then Belgian Congo. Most of

the fish from the Uganda part of the lake finds its way to Zaire.

FISH KILLS AND PARASITES

One of the earliest recorded mass fish kills occurred in December 1935. For a few days

enormous numbers or caeses of Lake Mputa (lates) were seen floating over a large area on the

lake Albert/Mobutu and this wide-spread mortality extended from kibiro to panymur. From am

launch on ship hundres of gleaming white bloated carses could be seen atanyone time (pitman,

1936). It was the larger fish which were invariably affected. The occasional widespread mortality

and vast scale had also never been satisfactorily explained. Pitman (1936) further observed that

the curious mortality was evidently confined to Nile perch (lates) and no other species seemed to

be involved.

Subsequent studies have shown that Nile perch is sensitive to low oxygen and the mixing

of anoxic water from the bottom of The Lake within the whole water column should account for

the mass kills. The lake occasionally gets very rough with high seas.

Several species of fish in the lake infested. Compana-Rouget (1961) reports on nematodes

found in fish from lacs kivu, Edouard et Albert in 1952-54. Nile perch is also known to be

infested with Dalops ranorum (Acere, 1984) and Lernea bernimiana (Thurston, 1960.1970;

Acere.1984), Philometra sp larva (Nematode) and diplectanum lacustris Thurston and paperna

1969, a monogenean found in gills (Thurston, 1970) and heavily infested with Ergasilus Kandti

and moderately infested with Diplectanum lacustris (Thurston, 1970). Green (1964, 1964a)

reported two new species of parabathynella (Crustacea: synacarida) from Lake Albert,

Uganda.Khalil and Thurston (1973) have reported on the Helminths parasites of fishes including

a description of two new species of digeneans.

Some of the hosts include the tilapiines, which are abundant in the lagoons and are

infested with Nematodes in the abdominal cavity (G. Mbahinzireki, personal communication).

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RESEARCH

Considerable amount of research work has been carried out on Lake Albert/Mbobutu,

although out continuously. On the Uganda side the most comprehensive work was done in

1962(Holden, 1963) long after the fishing survey in 1928 by Worthington (1929).Although by

1950s it was believed that the Uganda part was under-exploited (1954), this is no longer the case.

There is now need to examine the the state of the fisheries.

The biology of many species in this lake is hardly known. The Zaire part of the lake has

been studied, unfortunately the literature is not available in Uganda.

It is imperative that the long term economic viability of the fisheries of lake

Albert/Mobutu will depend upon a sound knowledge of biology, ecology and dynamics of the

constituent species in general and fish of commercial importance in particular. The dramatic

changes in the fisheries of this lake point that fish mortality of man in depleting fisheries

resources to a point of no return as demonstrated by the near disappearance of citharinus spp.

There is therefore need for a reliable and realistic study to to appraise fully the the present

state of fisheries, their potential and an understanding of those of the phenomena which have

affected their development. A number of issues need to be addressed.

1- There is a need to carry for reliable and realistic stock assessment survey in order to derive

reasonable estimates of vital statistics, standing stock and potential yield of various species.

2- There is need to conduct biological investigations on the major commercial fish species

including also the disappearing on both in the lakes and associated rivers. Among the parameters

of interest are included estimates of growth rate, age at first maturity, recruitment, and yield per

recruit and mortality rates.

3- An investigation of the ecological patterns of the lake with respect to species distribution

and abundance should be carried out.

4- An limnological survey of the lake and the associated rivers, covering phsical, chemical

and biological characteristics (productivity) of the system should be undertaken.

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5- The impact of the various fishing methods and gears currently in use should be examined, so

that their detrimental effects are at least minimized if not eliminated.

6- socio-economic studies of the lake populations should be investigated. There have been two

reports on this subject, and both of them dealt with Jonam at north-western of the lake (Ongom,

1970; Graham, 1986).

MANAGEMENT

Migratory resources such as fish and wildlife are liable to fare badly under a system of

unregulated completion. Such resources being elusive and therefore subjects of property rights in

so far as they actually possessed, cannot be rationally exploited under a system of unregulated

competition. Any decrease in production by only a part of the abstaining preserve the resources

for the future, or for the abstaining producers, but only improves the production and profit

chances of active producers. The result is that, to safeguard their long as it is allowed by the

relationship between the prevailing prices and costs.

The fisheries of lake Albert/Mobutu have been free for all without any limit to fishing effort, and

type of gear. Although beach seines were banned in mid 1980s, throughout Uganda, their use has

continued unabated almost everywhere with the field officers keeping a blind –eye to the

practice. The use of gillnets less than 76mm were discouraged but not enforced. The area around

Butiaba Island was supposed to be a sanctuary especially for the breeding of Tilapiines, where

fishing is prohibited. This too is not enforced .fishermen continue to fish there and elsewhere

using the most dangerous method for beating the water to frighten fish into set nets. At the

confluence of the Murchison Nile, lake Albert/mobutu and Albert Nile fishing is prohibited. It is

from that point up to the Murchison fall where the biologically over exploited and now rare

species such as Citharinus spp, Distochodus spp and Labeo are still abundant. These rare species

are also still found in the Albert/Nile where they cropped at even small size. However, the

prohibition to fish from the Eastern bank in the area of park seems to protect these rare species

from extinction and should be enforced.

In absence of detailed scientific data it is only fair to make afew recommendations for

management purposes.

1-The use of beach seine nets should be prohibited because they are used and dragged in areas

suitable for breeding of the Tilapiines.

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2-Gilnets and other fishing gears including fishing activities should not be deployed near mouths

of rivers. This measure would facilitate the eventual recovery of andromous fish such as

Citharinus, distochodus, Labeo and Claris, which breed in rivers.

3- The ban on fishing near Butiaba Island should be enforced.

4-the field staff should be p-provided with waterbourne craft and bicycles to facilitate their

mobility. This would enable the to collect catch and effort data which are the measure of fish

production. As a collorary the staff should try to provide more accurate statistics.

5- The field staff in order to be able to supply accurate information should be proviveded with

weighing scales, measuring tapes, gum-boats, rain coats and calculators.

6-Good access roads to fishing villages should be constructed or maintained. This would ensure

the supply of fish to the hinderland.

7. There is need to provide the fishing villages with fish gutting and washing slabs and also clean

water supply.

8. The fisher fork should be guaranteed the supply of fishing gears and other essential inputs.

9. The fisheries managers and research scientists from Uganda and Zaire should be constant

contact. This would alleviate some of the problems encountered on the lake such as that of

fishing gear across the border, and facilitate exchange of research findings.

10. There is need to harmonize the regulations on both sides of the shared lakes.

11. The tax stracture levied of fishermen for their canoes should be re-examined as it is now the

cause of catching more immature fish in an effort to break-even or make more profit. This

income tax seems excessive, given the hazards including thefts of gears and storage of fishing

inputs.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Our sincere thanks go to Mrs Ferry Balirwa for secretarial services and Mr. David mugerwa for

preparing statistical drawings. Most of the data and information used in this paper was collected

by the senior author when he was a consultant on the EEG financed Artisanal Fisheries

Resources Study Project No. 5100.36.47.025 Uganda.

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22

Table 2. Estimated Annual fish production in Lake Albert/ Mbobutu (Uganda waters) in

tones.

*= data not available. (Adopted from Ministry of Animal Industry of Fisheries, 1983;

Uganda Fisheries Department Annual Reports 1958- 1982; Okaranon and Kamanyi,

1889).

Year 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1972 1973

1000 Tonnes 12.0 14.6 18.4 18.0 * 11.3 10.2 12.4 13.2 13.5 13.7 23.4 9.5 10 4 13.0

Year 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989

1000 Tonnes 18.5 18.7 12.3 20.6 20.6 17.0 13.0 6.0 10.0 4.0 4.0 3.2 8.9 * 12.5 5.6

23

Table 3: landings surveyed, number of canoes interviewed and average number of days fished in

a week in Lake Albert (Adopted from Okaronon and Kamanyi, 1989)

Landing Category Canoes Canoes Days fished

Canoe No for actually per week

Interview interviewed

Kalolo A=0-9 4 4 6.0

Kachunde B=10-20 6 6 7.0

Kitebere B=10-20 5 5 7.0

Hoima B=10-20 7 1 7.0

Runga C=20+ 8 13 5.4

24

Table 4: Catch per mesh size gillnet power night in lake Albert/Mobutu during February 1989

(Source Okaronon & Kamanyi 1989

Gillnet mesh Number of Total No. Catch (kg)

mm canoes of nets used per net

sampled

50.8 6 386 0.36

63.5 7 522 1.30

76.2 1 75 0.31

101.5 5 32 1.50

114.3 7 51 2.40

203.8 1 9 4.56

25

Table 5: Catch per unit effort per category of landing in lake Albert/Mobutu in February 1989

(Source p; Okararonon and Kamanyi, 1989).

Size of no. of Canoes Average No. Catch (kg) Catch (kg)

Landing sampled of nets per per net per

(Canoes) canoe canoe

A=0-0 4 23 1.27 29.21

B=10-20 11 47 1.37 64.21

C=20+ 13 36 0.59 21.24

A+B+C 28 38 1.03 39.14

26

Table 6: Retention Characteristics of the various mesh size gillnets per fish species in lake

Albert, in February 1989 (Source: Okarononand Kamanyi, 1989)

Species Gillnet n Total/Fork length (cm) Weight (kg)

Mesh minim. Av. Max. Min. Av. Max

(mm)

O. niloticus 101.6 63 20.80 24.90 24.50 0.14 0.58 0.64

O. niloticus 114.3 82 22.10 28.85 34.40 0.24 0.62 0.94

Bagrus spp 88.9 16 28.00 36.81 50.20 0.24 0.45 1.28

Lates spp 76.2 16 28.00 32.20 38.50 0.28 0.36 0.56

Lates spp 114.3 41 30.00 38.81 50.20 0.30 0.74 1.68

Alestes spp 63.5 58 22.30 26.72 42.40 0.10 0.21 0.52

Hydrocynus spp 50.8 149 19.80 25.61 32.30 0.08 0.21 0.72

Hydrocynus spp 63.5 114 20.30 25.49 30.30 0.12 0.20 0.33

27

Table 7: Catch per net per night for various gillnet mesh size per fish species in lake

Albert/Mobutu in February 1989 (Source ; Okararonon and Kamanyi, 1989).

Species Gillnets Total No. Catch (kg)

Mesh size of nets per net

(mm) used

O. niloticus 50.8 43 0.00



O. niloticus 101.6 27 1.58

O. niloticus 114.3 51 1.04

Bagrus spp 50.8 25 0.04

Bagrus spp 63.5 72 0.00

Bagrus spp 76.2 75 0.03

Bagrus spp 101.6 5 0.16

Bagrus spp 114.3 24 0.20

Clarias 114.3 4 0.8

Lates spp 50.8 163 0.03

Lates spp 63.5 150 0.00

Lates spp 76.2 75 0.23

Lates spp 101.6 5 0.74

Lates spp 114.3 41 1.07

Lates spp 203.2 9 1.39

Synodontis spp 50.8 185 0.02




28

Barbus spp 63.5 80 0.28

Barbus spp 76.2 75 0.01

Barbus spp 101.6 5 0.07

Barbus spp 114.3 6 0.77

Labeo spp 50.8 22 0.03

Schilbe spp 50.8 140 0.01

Schilbe spp 63.5 72 0.00

Alestes spp 50.8 246 0.06



Hydrocynus spp 50.8 385 0.30




Other species 50.8 22 0.01



29

Table 8. Canoes operating on lake Albert/Mobutu (Uganda waters) in 1949- 89 (Source:

Fisheries Department Records)

Year 1949 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1960 1966 1989

Canoes 128 497 546 568 600 659 700 1011 1403 1349

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