Operational, environmental, and resource productivity factors driving spatial distribution of gillnet and longline fishers targeting Nile-perch (Lates niloticus), Lake Victoria

Abstract Operational and environmental factors limited available resource space of gillnet and longline fishers targeting Nile perch in the Speke gulf and open lake of southern Lake Victoria and drove their encounter rates with patches of fish resulting in gear specific distributional patterns. Catch-rate patterns were similar by region and gear: large (>50 cm) Nile-perch densities increased over distance from homeport and deeper in the water column while small Nile perch (