Saving the Nile Perch

The Nile perch scientifically known as the Lates niloticus is a species of the fresh water fish which is widespread throughout much of the Afrotropic ecozone.
The species is native to the Congo, Nile, Senegal, Niger and in Lakes Chad, Volta, Turkana and other river basins.

It is commonly known as African snook or Victoria perch which happens to be a misleading trade name since the species is not native to Lake Victoria. We know it as Sangara in Tanzania.
The Nile Perch can grow 2 meters in length and weigh up to 200 kg but most of them are caught before they can grow this big-the reason experts say they are at risk of being extinct alongside many other species in the lake.

A research by Tanzania Fisheries Research Institute (TAFIRI) by the beginning of 2008, stated that there was an estimated 300,000 tones of Nile Perch, but in mid August 2010 the stock had dwindled dramatically by 50 percent.
The country owns 51 percent of the lake and has therefore been the leading exporter of the Nile perch fillets to the EU market for the past eight years.

The UN Foods and Agricultural Organisation once issued a strong warning of the industry collapsing if stern measures were not taken to tame the looming crisis.
There should be efforts to allow fish to breed by suspending fishing activities for a few months or introduce seasonal fishing which may appear difficult for fishing communities along the lake since majority depend on fishing activities for survival.

The reason for the decrease of fish in the lake has been cited by some fishermen as a result of illegal activities such as illegal fishing gears such as dynamite and poisons and over-fishing.
The construction of fish processing industries along the lake helped provide employment but have turned into a curse since fish are fished daily thus contributing to diminishing the stock of fish in the lake. This therefore leads to lack of employment to both individuals and industries.

In the process of saving the Nile Perch and many other species in Lake Victoria, communities can be introduced to fish farming to allow more breeding areas rather than simply depending on the lake for fish.

This will help reduce pollution in the lake and give it more space to revive its environment and breed more species.