Comparative analysis of fisheries restoration and public participation in Lake Victoria and Lake Tanganyika

Four decades after the initial export of Nile Perch from Lake Victoria, which reached an annual maximum harvest of 330,000 tons in 2000 (LVFO, 2009), Nile Perch resources are under pressure. With a form of co-management in place, it is not clear who is responsible for resources management. The fishers claim the Governments are responsible and the Governments say that the fish export industry is responsible. Results of six years of research led the Council of Ministers of the Lake Victoria Fisheries Organization in 2003 to endorse the recommendation to enforce drastic measures. When the measures came into force they were strictly adhered to, but with time, the authorities unwillingly relaxed them until draconian measures then had to be taken. Identical measures were adopted by the Council in 2009 and this resulted in the professional fish export associations rigidly maintaining one portion, while claiming that no scientific evidence existed for the other part. The co-management system making use of Beach M...