Sustainable fisheries in Lake Tanganyika

Towards sustainable fisheries in Lake Tanganyika: integration of genetics, environmental data and stakeholder involvement. This project is a VLADOC scholarship, funded by VLIR-UOS, with a total budget of 145,000 €. 

The objective of the proposal is to improve applied biological knowledge of two key fish species of Lake Tanganyika, which provide more than 60% of the annual fish production (200,000 ton): the clupeids Stolothrissa tanganicae and Limnothrissa miodon commonly known as Lake Tanganyika sardines. Lake Tanganyika provides livelihood and food security to millions of people. This lake, the second-oldest and second-deepest in the world, is also a textbook case for evolutionary biology. We aim to increase knowledge of clupeid biology with an integrated, innovative and cost-effective strategy to monitor lake-wide and long-term trends in clupeid stocks with regard to the impact of climate change and overexploitation. Improved knowledge will allow to formulate specific management strategies for a sustainable pelagic fishery on Lake Tanganyika sardines. 
CEBioS is within this project mainly involved in PhD student co-supervision, especially for the aspects related to field monitoring, capacity building and policy. We also contribute to the fish genetic aspects. 

Responsible for CEBioS: Els De Keyzer, Maarten Vanhove 
Partners: KU Leuven, Centre de Recherche en Hydrobiologie – Uvira (DRC) ; for the genetic aspects, we are supported by and collaborate with the Joint Experimental Molecular Unit (JEMU) of RBINS and RMCA.

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Funding

VLIR-UOS