Joint Operations in Lake Victoria to reduce IUU fishing
Lake Victoria, Africa’s largest lake, is arguably the most important single source of freshwater fish on the African continent, contributing significantly to national and regional economies and the livelihoods of an estimated three million inhabitants of the three countries bordering its shores, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. Nile perch was introduced to the lake in the 1950s and increased in biomass to such an extent that it decimated the lake’s endemic fish community and became the most important fish species in the lake, forming the basis of a lucrative commercial fishery. The Lake Victoria Fisheries Organization (LVFO) was formed in 1994 to jointly manage the Lake’s fisheries resources on behalf of the three partner States, but nevertheless Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing have had a continued impact on Nile perch. Its Biomass peaked at around 2.3 million tonnes in 1999 and accounted for 92% of total fish biomass but fell to less than 300,000 tonnes in 2008. Moreover, the average length of Nile perch has declined from 51.7 cm to 26.6 cm, as recorded in 2008, significantly below the required minimum size of 50 cm for export.