Fish Abundance And Socio-economic Aspects Of Lake Jipe Fisheries Kenyatanzania Border

Lake Jipe is a lake that is shared by two countries, Kenya and Tanzania, and is one of thernwater bodies where both human and natural activities have had great impacts both on the fishrnand fisheries. This study was aimed at identifying all the fish species found in the lake,rndetelmining the relative abundance of each of the species at selected sites and to assess thernsocio-economic aspects of fisheries in the lake. Fish sampling was done using gill nets ofrnsize 20 - 60 mm and fish identified to give a species inventory of the lake. Relativernabundance was estimated using Catch Per Unit Effort (CPUE). A questionnaire was used torngather information on the socio-economic aspects. Nine species were identified from thernlake. Catch Per Unit Effort (CPUE) showed that the introduced Oreochromis esclilelltlls wasrnthe most abundant in both seasons and also in all the sites, both in numbers and weights.rnAnalysis of Yariance (ANOY A) indicated a significant difference in weight of specimensrnbetween the two seasons. The length-weight relationship for Bm·bus. Paludinosus, 0.rnesclIlentlts and O. jipe, which were the most common species in the lake, were found to berncnrvilinear. The mean seasonal Fulton condition factor was 2.0, 2.1, 1.3 and 0.9 for 0. jipe,rn0. esculelltlls, B. paludilloSIlS and R. tangensis, respectively. There were no significantrndifferences in the water parameters between the sampling sites, but there were significantrndifferences for BOD, electrical conductivity and temperature between seasons. Gill netsrnwere the most commonly used fishing gear by the local fishermen and a mesh size of 30mmrnwas most pre felTed. Fish caught by the fishermen were both for commercial and subsistencernpurposes. Fish preservation methods included smoking and sun drying. This study realizedrnthat the challenges facing Lake Jipe are a complex mixture of socio-economic and ecologicalrnfactors some of which include increased siltation, decreasing water quality and quantity,rnshrinking fishery, advancing water plants, agricultural expansion and expanding itTigation.rnKEYWORDS: Lake Jipe fisheries, Relative abundance, Socio-economic aspects,rnKenya/Tanzania border

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