Identification of migratory and spawning habitats of Clarias gariepinus (Burchell, 1822) in Lake Edward - Ishasha River watershed, Albertine Rift Valley, East Africa
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Date
2015
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
International Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Studies
Abstract
Catfish (1103) were sampled twice monthly with beach-seines, tagged with external T-bar Anchor tags
and released at four estuarine sites, in July – August; September - October 2011; February-March and;
April - May 2012. The study aimed to identify catfish migratory and spawning habitats around Lake
Edward watershed. The relocations for 115 C. gariepinus recaptured within the lake watershed were
determined and spawning condition examined. About 73% of catfish were recaptured from the littoral,
11.3% from marginal wetlands, 8.7% from the pelagic, 3.5% from river mouths and river channel,
respectively. Among the ripe females, about 46% were recaptured from the marginal wetlands, 23% from
river channel, and about 15.5% from the littoral and river mouths, respectively. The selected habitats
were identified as migratory and spawning grounds for C. gariepinus. These should be conserved and
protected from human activities and development programs and their connectivity ensured.
Description
Keywords
Albertine Rift valley, Lake Edward, Ishasha River, Clarias gariepinus, Migratory habitats, Spawning grounds.
Citation
Mbalassa, M., Nshombo, M., Kateyo, M. E., Chapman, L., Efitre, J., & Bwanika, G. (2015). Identification of migratory and spawning habitats of Clarias gariepinus (Burchell, 1822) in Lake Edward-Ishasha River watershed, Albertine Rift Valley, East Africa. International Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Studies, 2(3), 128-138.