An assessment of the impacts of flooding on fish production in river Nile :

Abstract

Flooding is a major disturbance that impacts aquatic ecosystems and the ecosystem services that they provide. Thus, the present study aimed to assess the impacts of flooding on fish production in Victoria Nile, Namasagali sub-county. Three landing sites were considered for data collection and these included: Kabeto, Kalama and Nsangabiyire. Questionnaires, field interviews and on- site observation were methods used to collect data for species richness, abundance and diversity as well as existing fisheries management methods for a period of two months from January to March. Results revealed that species richness and abundance were generally higher before flooding than after flooding. Nevertheless, species diversity was higher after flooding than before flooding. Furthermore, fish biomass was higher after flooding than before flooding attributed to increase in nutrients in water from watershed thus increasing biomass after flooding. The major fishery management option in Namasagali was adoption of legal fishing gears which accounted for 76.1%. Given the lower fish biomass recorded in this study than that given in literature, it is concluded that measures to control future flooding River Nile like wetland restoration, conservation and management should be adopted.