Assessment of the fish catches in the upper Victoria Nile Uganda :

Abstract

This research was carried out to assess the fishery status of river Nile a case study of upper, Victoria Nile in Namasagali sub-county, Kamuli district, with specific objectives; to determine the relative indices of fish catches in relation to the fishing gears and its impacts; to determine the fish species composition and size structure of the fish catches, to determine the effort of boat size on the catches in the upper Victoria Nile. The study involved the use of both frame survey and catch assessment survey data sheets. The Frame survey captured all the important characteristics of the fisheries and facilities supporting the fisheries and thus provided a strong baseline for future reference of management interventions for the river. CAS for each of the selected landing sites the names of major fish landings were sampled along with the records of the number of active boats at each landing. The for each sampled boat the following information/records were made: Date of sampling, boat type, number of days the fisherman goes out fishing per week, whether day or night catch, type of propulsion, number of crew per boat, gear type, size and number per boat, types of species caught per gear, gear size and fishing method, total weight of individual fish species per gear, gear size fishing method and the total length each species were measured. The fishermen provided information the price (Shs/Kg) of different fish species at the landing site. The data was collected for the period of two months and it was analysed using the excel data base in tabular form and graphical form for easy interpretation. In the study in terms of species diversity, on the commercial basis most fishers harvested the following fishes using gillnets and other gears; Synodontis afrofisheries, Labeo species, Momyrus Kanume, Clarias gariepinus are going under extinction as it is shown by their average weight per boat type code sampled compared to other fish species, 90.83% of Lates niloticus was found to be harvested when they are immature: Annual estimates indicated that 3,409.7 tonnes and income of 24,291,981 Uganda shillings from all the landing sites. This income is very low that need management intervention on the fisheries sector.