http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12283/367 2026-04-03T21:28:57Z http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12283/4519 An assessment of the role of fish farming in enhancing food security in bumwoni sub county, Namisindwa district Watenyela, Rashid Fish farming, also known as aquaculture, has gained significant attention worldwide as a means to enhance household income, offer employment opportunities and improve nutrition from direct consumption. This study thus sought to unravel information regarding the contribution of fish farming in enhancing food security in Bumwoni Sub- county, Namisindwa District. The objectives of the study were: i) to evaluate the current status of fish farming in terms of production systems used and cultured fish species in Bumwoni subcounty; ii) to determine fish production from aquaculture production systems in Bumwoni sub-county; iii) to compare the proportion of income spent on aquaculture products to that spent on other food items, and, iv) to determine the contribution of aquaculture to house hold income. Across sectional study involving quantitative approaches was employed in this study. Dependent variables were food security status, fish consumption, income from fish while independent variables were fish farming resources and fish farming access. The study revealed that the contribution of fish farming to household income was 16.02%, 74.24% practice earthen pond and 46.97% of respondents’ farm cat fish. There was no statistically significant difference between the proportions of income spent on fish products to that of other food items in the study area, pvalue= 0.9478. In conclusion, the study highly recommends the farming community of Bumwoni to specialize in farming of cat fish and use of earthen pond because to its adaptive,highly productive, feed friendly and environmentally friendly. Dissertation 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12283/4489 An assessment of physico-chemical water quality parameters in earthen fish ponds Okello, Michael Aquaculture is one of the fastest food growing industries in the world with potential to supplement the ever declining capture fisheries stock. Nevertheless, one of the major challenges limiting fish productivity in earthen ponds is the unreliable water quality, which is either attributed to point or non-point pollution from human activities or in-pond activities including over feeding and poor pond maintenance. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the physico-chemical water quality parameters in earthen ponds. The specific objectives were to: i) find out the physio-chemical water quality composition of earthen fish ponds in relation to temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration, electrical conductivity (EC),total dissolved solids (TDS) and total suspended solids (TSS); ii) determine if named parameters in objective 1 are within the recommended standards to support fish culture, and iii) suggest the management practices for improved and sustained water quality of earthen ponds. This study was conducted in Kamuli district, Kisozi sub-county, and this involved random selection of 5 fish ponds based on accessibility. The fish ponds were monitored over a period of six (6) weeks from May-June, 2024. The physico-chemical water quality parameters monitored included: Temperature, DO, pH, EC and TDS were measured in-situ using Multimeter parameter probe(HANNA H198194) while TSS was analysed in the laboratory following standard methods of water and wastewater treatment by APHA (1998). Results for the physio-chemical water quality composition in five earthen fish ponds that is to say A, B C, D, and E was: Temperature 26.06±1.44, 25.58±1.40, 25.30±1.41, 25.47±1.22 and 26.83±2.59 respectively; DO: 5.30±0.66, 5.41±0.66, 5.35±0.62, 5.72±0.41 and 4.91±0.71, PH was 7.51±0.16, 6.74±1.28, 7.09±0.11, 6.33±0.30 and 7.31±0.29 respectively. EC was found to be 349.72±10.73, 346.88±22.23, 662.44±13.15, 98.83±19.67 and 280.66±23.11 for ponds A, B, C, D and E respectively. TDS: 174.11±4.54, 172.55±1.48, 331.66±6.58, 48.83±9.07 and 143±11.08 and TSS water was 166.67±98.47, 141.67±66.85, 200±95.34, 200±95.34 and 141±66.85 respectively, and were found to be within the recommended ranges required to support fish culture except TSS. It is recommended that pond management should be encouraged through regular water exchange, influent treatment and controlled feeding to maintain TSS levels within recommended standards. Dissertation 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12283/4478 Assessing the willingness of fishermen to adopt the use of gill nets in Namasagali sub county, Kamuli District Wamema, Joel This study assessed the willingness of fishermen to adopt the legal fishing gear specifically the gill nets of recommended size (slot above 4 inches), the sample size was determined using purposive sampling. Respondents were selected based on specific criteria where individuals having information or experience about fisheries activities of Namasagali Sub-county were selected purposively. The sample size was of 30 people (fishermen, fish mongers, sand miners, and farmers) focused on information rich cases and emphasized on depth over breadth, this enabled efficient use of resources. A structured questionnaire consisting of a predetermined set of questions of fitted response options was used in this survey to collect data from respondents in a systematic and standardized manner in Namasagali Sub-county Kamuli district (September 2024). The collected primary data was coded, entered into Microsoft Excel software, cleaned, filtered and then analyzed. The analyzed data was presented using descriptive statistics summarized in tables, frequencies, bar charts to assess the associations between variables, such as the relationship between socioeconomic characteristics and willingness to adopt legal fishing gears. The study examined the socio-economic characteristics of respondents. The findings of the study indicated that all respondents (100%) had prior knowledge about gill nets, 75% (23) of the respondents were willing to adopt the use of gillnets of recommended size if it could increase their catches and incomes, while 25% (7) of the respondents were uncomfortable with taking up the use of gillnets. This indicates that there is an increased probability of people taking up the use of gillnets of recommended size in Namasagali Sub-county. from the study the largest population of the respondents (47%) fall within the age group of 25-34 years indicating that there is quite a larger proportion of young people engaged in fishing activities as compared to older groups which poses an advantage in adoption of new technologies such as the gillnet use. Results from the study showed that the government through its various programs is highly supporting gillnets adoption by fishermen, however also various non-government organizations have come to support adoption of gillnets to ensure the sustainability of fisheries resources in Namasagali fishing village, these align with previous studies (Kaczynski et al .,2017; Nielsen et al .,2018). Highly recommend that hands-on training and demonstrations be given to fishermen on the proper use and maintenance of gill nets and also existing fishing regulations and policies in Uganda be reviewed and analyzed to ensure they support sustainable fishing practices. Dissertation 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12283/4476 Assessing the impact of water hyacinth on fishing communities in Lake Kyoga. Akena, Sam This study was conducted at Namasale landing site,Namasale sub county,Amolatar district. The impacts of water hyacinth on fishing communities around Namasale landing sitewere studied with a view to assessing effects of trends of water hyacinth cover. Primary data was collected using interviews utilizing questionnaires administered to fishing communities, governments and non- governments agencies. 15% of the respondents were female and 85% were males. Results indicate the highest percentage of the respondents were married (66%). Most of the respondents were in the age bracket of 18 to 35 years (48%). Those who have lived in the area for 5 to 10 years constituted 53% of the respondents, 31.7 % had lived in the area for over 10 years, while 1.7% had lived in the area for less than 5years.Respondents engaged in fishing activities encountered water hyacinth while fishing on the lake. Rated in terms of encounters per month, 60% of the respondents encountered 2 to 5 times per month; 30% encountered more than 15 times per month with 8.3%, and 1.7% never encountered water hyacinth while fishing.96.7% of the respondents observed seasonal variations in water hyacinth coverage being more prevalent in the wet season (95% of the respondents) than the dry (5% of the respondents). Responses of 54.9% indicated that water hyacinth provided favourable breeding grounds for fish; 17.1% indicated water hyacinth increased fish catches while 14.6% indicated water hyacinth had no effect on fish catch.Negatively, water hyacinth affected fishing communities by blocking the navigation channels, reduction in fish market, and its breeding ground for pest with reported by 36.8%, 35.1% and 1.8% reported by of the respondents.Basing on the study on water hyacinth conducted together with other previous studies about water hyacinth , I concluded that there should be high need to control its existence since it is covering up the water bodies and affecting seriously the fishery department and then generally the navigation system. Dissertation 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z