Item Details

Title: Increase in Anoxia in Lake Victoria and Its Effects on the Fishery.

Date Published: 2012
Author/s: Njiru, M.; Nyamweya, C.; Gichuki, J.; Mugidde, R.; Mkumbo, O.; Witte, F.
Data publication:
Funding Agency :
Copyright/patents/trade marks:
Journal Publisher:
Affiliation: Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, Moi University, Eldoret,
2Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute, Kisumu, Kenya
3COWI, Uganda Ltd, Plot No. 3, Portal Avenue, Kampala,
4Lake Victoria Fisheries Organisation (LVFO), Jinja,
5
Institute of Biology Leiden, Leiden University, Leiden,
1,2Kenya
3,4Uganda
5Netherlands
Keywords:

Abstract:

Lake Victoria is the second largest freshwater lake in the world and the largest in the tropics
(Crul, 1995). It is found in East Africa, within 0°20'N to 3°00'S and 31°39'E to 34°53'E at an
altitude of 1134 m. It has a surface area of about 68,800 km2 and a maximum depth of about
70 m. The lake is shared by Tanzania (51%), Uganda (43%), Kenya (6%), with a drainage
basin of about 195 000 km2 which includes the neighbouring states of Rwanda and Burundi.
Lake Victoria originated less than 1 million years ago and may have been dry for several
millennia until about 14,000 years ago (Stager & Johnson, 2007). The lake and its numerous
satellite lakes were originally dominated by a rich fish fauna, comprising several hundred
species of cichlids (Kaufman et al., 1997).