In East Africa, Nile perch and Nile tilapia are major commercial fish species, providing reliable protein and income sources. However, their stocks are dwindling on Lake Kyoga due to land use and land cover (LULC) changes within the surrounding catchment. Thus, this paper aims at assessing the land use land cover on Lake Kyoga and its immediate catchment and how those changes affect the water quality and the local fish catches. The Iso-Cluster tool in ArcGIS was used to analyze Landsat images from the years 1989 to 2021 to obtain LULC information. The LULC classes were classified into water, wetland, agricultural land, rangeland, and settlements. Correction using a 2-tailed test of the water quality parameters with the LULC classes indicated a strong positive correlation of TN with water (0.71), a strong negative correlation of TP with rangelands (−0.83), and a strong positive correlation of Chl-a with settlement (0.98) at a 0.05 confidence level. The correlation of the recorded fish catch data with fishing gear showed a strong negative correlation with cast and monofilament nets. Continued use of illegal fishing gear was ranked number 1 of the causes of LULC by the stakeholders. Thus, the fisheries managers should collaborate with local stakeholders to boost declining fish catches for improved livelihoods and sustainable management.
Nile perch and Nile tilapia are major commercial species in Uganda, and thus require continuous production. However, their production is impacted by anthropogenic activities such as fishing in breeding habitats. The aim of this study was to identify and characterize Nile perch and Nile tilapia fish breeding habitats on Lake Kyoga. Water quality, lake bottom, fish and vegetation type samples were collected from 20 sites in April of 2021 and 2022. Key informant interviews were conducted with experienced fishermen at five fish landing sites. The water quality parameters indicated significant difference within the sites using analysis of variance. Sandy and muddy bottom types were equally spread at 40% each by use of a pie chart. Fish gonads showed no significant difference among the 20 sites. Bivariate correlation analysis of the vegetation types indicated a strong negative correlation with Nile perch while Nile tilapia had a positive correlation. Principal component analysis of the water quality, fish gonads and habitat vegetation components cumulatively contributed 82.5% in characterizing a fish breeding habitat. Four sites for Nile perch and four sites for Nile tilapia were characterized as breeding sites on Lake Kyoga and are recommended for mapping and gazettement as breeding habitats for sustainable fisheries management.
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