Adaptation Strategies to a Changing Resource Base: Case of the Gillnet Nile Perch Fishery on Lake Victoria in Uganda

Veronica Mpomwenda, Tumi Tómasson, Jón Geir Pétursson, Anthony Taabu-Munyaho, Herbert Nakiyende and Daði Mar Kristófersson
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Veronica Mpomwenda: National Fisheries Resources Research Institute, Jinja 380052, Uganda
Tumi Tómasson: UNESCO-GRO Fisheries Training Programme, 220 Hafnarfjordur, Iceland
Jón Geir Pétursson: Environment and Natural Resources Program, School of Engineering and Natural Sciences, University of Iceland, 102 Reykjavik, Iceland
Anthony Taabu-Munyaho: Lake Victoria Fisheries Organisation, Jinja 380052, Uganda
Herbert Nakiyende: National Fisheries Resources Research Institute, Jinja 380052, Uganda
Daði Mar Kristófersson: Faculty of Economics, School of Social Sciences, University of Iceland, 102 Reykjavik, Iceland

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 4, 1-20

Abstract: Sustainable management of fisheries has proven to be a daunting exercise for Lake Victoria. Exploitation patterns in the fishery are driven by fishers who adopt different strategies as a response to changing economic, management, socio-economic, and resource conditions. Fisheries managers, however, seldom consider these changes in management policies. The aim of the study, therefore, was to evaluate the adaptation strategies of the Nile perch gillnet fishers on Lake Victoria in Uganda using 8-year catch and effort data collected in the period from 2005 to 2015. Trends of the selected effort and catch variables in the study period identified two adaptive fishing strategies by gillnet fishers on the lake. The first group, the paddled fishermen whose gillnet use varied in the first half of the study, diverted to harvesting juvenile Nile perch by using smaller, mesh sizes, monofilament nets and gillnets of less depth in the second half of the study. Motorized fishers, on the other hand, maintained their mesh size, using multifilament gillnets, however, they increased the depth of their nets in the second half of the study period to maintain their targeted fish size. Fishers on Lake Victoria adapted strategies to cope with their constraints and opportunities based on the Nile perch population structure and their economic needs. It is important for fishery managers to consider that the fishers are an integral part of the fisheries ecosystems, and considering their behavior in management decisions will aid in devising adaptive policies for sustainable resource use and sustainable livelihood development of the fishers’ communities.

Keywords: small scale inland fisheries; sustainability; fisheries management; fisher’s strategies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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