Lake Victoria has gone through dramatic changes over the last three decades. The introduced alien Nile perch kites niloticus did not only cause ecological changes in the lake by consuming half of the native species almost to extinction, but it also revolutionalized the economic face of the lake. It turned Lake Victoria into a highly commercialized fishery. There was a five fold increment in volume of the fish harvested from the lake leading to the establishment of fish processing factories for the European market. As the prices of the perch 'sky rocketed' after the development of the foreign markets, more people joined the fishery. Some fishermen reacted by inventing and adopting all forms of destructive fishing habits to satisfy the increasing foreign demand for the perch. The lake has ended up suffering from illegal fishing and overexploitation of its resources, which threatens its long-term sustainable production. The study identifies the nature of illegal fishing on Lake Victoria and how it is carried out The thesis also looks into the possible causes or the driving forces behind illegal fishing on the lake, taking into context of the wider fishing communities. This thesis also discusses the challenges faced by management in trying to solve the illegal fishing problem on the lake. There are different forms of illegal fishing and trade on the Ugandan side of Lake Victoria, these include; beach seining, use of undersize nets, fishing in breeding grounds, driving fish into nets, use of illegal boats. There is also fish smuggling and trading in juvenile fish, which is prohibited. The different forces behind illegal fishing on the lake include; poverty among the crew members, reduced catches, rising prices for the fish, poor savings, social influence which forces people into IUU fishing. On the other side, lack of human resource, sufficient funds, lack of proper MCS infrastructure, the lake being semi-open access, presence of ungazzetted sites, are some of the challenges faced by management to effectively control IUU fishing on Lake Victoria. Although management is fully aware of the negative effects of the fishery being open access, it also recognizes the fact that by limiting access, it may end up closing out the poorest in the communities around the lake who have been dependant on the lake for generations.
Sustainability Science Abstracts; ASFA 1: Biological Sciences & Living Resources; fishing communities; overexploitation; Illegal fishing; catches; seining; Beaches; Fishing vessels; Sustainable development; Freshwater; extinction; Net fishing; Freshwater fish; poverty; Factories; Economics; Breeding sites; fishing; Commercial fishing; Fisheries; Africa, Victoria L.; Rare species; infrastructure; Fishery management; breeding; Q1 08604:Stock assessment and management; M3 1010:Issues in Sustainable Development