Impacts of Land Cover Changes on Catches of Nile Perch and Nile Tilapia on Lake Kyoga, Uganda
Loading...
Date
2023
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Fishes
Abstract
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.
Description
Keywords
Assessment, Correlations, Fish catch, Lake Kyoga, Stakeholders, Water quality
Citation
Nambi, R.W.; Getahun, A.; Muyodi, F.J.; Rukuunya, E. Impacts of Land Cover Changes on Catches of Nile Perch and Nile Tilapia on Lake Kyoga, Uganda. Fishes 2023, 8, 158. https://doi.org/10.3390/ fishes8030158