Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. With a surface area of approximately 59,947 km2 (23,146 sq mi), Lake Victoria is Africa's largest lake by area, the world's largest tropical lake, and the world's second-largest fresh water lake by surface area after Lake Superior in North America. In terms of volume, Lake Victoria is the world's ninth-largest continental lake, containing about 2,424 km3 (1.965×109 acre⋅ft) of water. Lake Victoria occupies a shallow depression in Africa. The lake has an average depth of 40 m (130 ft) and a maximum depth of 80–81 m (262–266 ft). Its catchment area covers 169,858 km2 (65,583 sq mi). The lake has a shoreline of 7,142 km (4,438 mi) when digitized at the 1:25,000 level, with islands constituting 3.7% of this length.
The Nile perch, also known as the African snook, Goliath perch, African barramundi, Goliath barramundi, Giant lates or the Victoria perch, is a species of freshwater fish in family Latidae of order Perciformes. It is widespread throughout much of the Afrotropical realm, being native to the Congo, Nile, Senegal, Niger and Lake Chad, Volta, Lake Turkana, and other river basins. It also occurs in the brackish waters of Lake Maryut in Egypt. The Nile perch is a fish of substantial economic and food-security importance in East Africa. Originally described as Labrus niloticus, among the marine wrasses, the species has also been referred to as Centropomus niloticus. Common names include African snook, Victoria perch, and many local names in various African languages, such as the Luo name mbuta or mputa. In Tanzania, it is called sangara, sankara, or chenku. In Francophone African countries, it is known as capitaine. Its name in the Hausa language is giwan ruwa, meaning "water elephant".
Tilapia is the common name for nearly a hundred species of cichlid fish from the coelotilapine, coptodonine, heterotilapine, oreochromine, pelmatolapiine, and tilapiine tribes, with the economically most important species placed in the Coptodonini and Oreochromini. Tilapia are mainly freshwater fish inhabiting shallow streams, ponds, rivers, and lakes, and less commonly found living in brackish water. Historically, they have been of major importance in artisanal fishing in Africa, and they are of increasing importance in aquaculture and aquaponics. Tilapia can become a problematic invasive species in new warm-water habitats such as Australia, whether deliberately or accidentally introduced, but generally not in temperate climates due to their inability to survive in cold water.
The Nile tilapia is a species of tilapia, a cichlid fish native to parts of Africa and the Levant, particularly Israel and Lebanon. Numerous introduced populations exist outside its natural range. It is also commercially known as mango fish, nilotica, or boulti.
Oreochromis is a large genus of oreochromine cichlids, fishes endemic to Africa and the Middle East. A few species from this genus have been introduced far outside their native range and are important in aquaculture. Many others have very small ranges; some are seriously threatened, and O. ismailiaensis and O. lidole possibly are extinct. Although Oreochromis primarily are freshwater fish of rivers, lakes and similar habitats, several species can also thrive in brackish waters and some even survive in hypersaline conditions with a salinity that far surpasses that of seawater. In addition to overfishing and habitat loss, some of the more localized species are threatened by the introduction of other, more widespread Oreochromis species into their ranges. This is because they—in addition to competing for the local resources—often are able to hybridize.
The silver cyprinid also known as the Lake Victoria sardine, mukene, and omena, dagaa (Swahili) is a species of pelagic, freshwater ray-finned fish in the carp family, Cyprinidae from East Africa. It is the only member of the genus Rastrineobola.
Oreochromis amphimelas is a species of tilapia cichlid endemic to north–central Tanzania, where it is found in Lake Manyara and a number of other saline lakes with closed basins. Maximum recorded size is 28 cm (11 in) in standard length.
Oreochromis chungruruensis, the Kiungululu tilapia, is a species of cichlid fish that is endemic to Lake Chungruru, a small isolated crater lake in the Rungwe District in southern Tanzania. This species reaches up to 15.4 cm (6.1 in) in standard length and 19.5 cm (7.7 in) in total length. It is critically endangered due to overfishing and non-native tilapia species that have been introduced to Lake Chungruru.
The Lake Chala tilapia is a species of cichlid fish that is endemic to Lake Chala, a small crater lake on the border of Kenya and Rombo District of Kilimanjaro Region in Tanzania. It mostly lives in relatively deep water, at depths between 20–45 m (66–148 ft). It is considered critically endangered by the IUCN, with the two primary threats being deterioration of its habitat due to siltation, and other non-native tilapia species that have been introduced to Lake Chala. Before these introductions, the Lake Chala tilapia was the only fish in Lake Chala. It is very closely related to the similar Jipe tilapia, another highly threatened species from the same general region of Kenya and Tanzania. The Lake Chala tilapia can reach a standard length of up to 30 cm (12 in).
Oreochromis jipe, the Jipe tilapia, is a critically endangered species of cichlid fish native to Kenya and Tanzania, where it is restricted to Lake Jipe and the Pangani River. The population in the Pangani River shows some morphological differences compared to the population in Lake Jipe, and it is sometimes recognized as a separate species, the Pangani tilapia. Whether regarded as one or two species, the Jipe–Pangani tilapia forms a species flock with the threatened Lake Chala tilapia from the same general region of Kenya and Tanzania.
Oreochromis leucostictus is a species of cichlid native to Albertine Rift Valley lakes and associated rivers in DR Congo and Uganda. It has now been introduced widely elsewhere East Africa, and is believed to have negative ecological impact, particularly on native tilapias. This species is reported to reach a standard length of up to 36.3 cm (14.3 in), but is usually much smaller. It is exploited by small-scale fishery and aquaculture operations.
The Lake Rukwa tilapia is a species of cichlid endemic to the Lake Rukwa catchment in Tanzania. This species can reach a length of 33 centimetres (13 in) SL. This species is important to local commercial fisheries.
Oreochromis variabilis, the Victoria tilapia, is a species of African cichlid native to Lake Victoria and its tributaries, Lake Kyoga, Lake Kwania, and Lake Bisina (Salisbury), as well as being found in the Victoria Nile above Murchison Falls. This species can reach a standard length of 30 cm (12 in). This species is important to local commercial fisheries and is potentially important in aquaculture. It is also found in the aquarium trade.
Tristramella is a genus of oreochromines, freshwater fishes in the cichlid family. The members of this genus prefer standing waters and their native range is restricted to the Jordan River system, including Lake Tiberias (Kinneret), in Israel and Syria, with introduced populations in a few other places in Syria. Its members are among the few cichlids native to Western Asia, the others being Astatotilapia flaviijosephi, Coptodon zillii, Iranocichla, Oreochromis aureus, O. niloticus and Sarotherodon galilaeus.
Lake Victoria supports Africa's largest inland fishery, with the majority of the catch being the invasive Nile perch, introduced in the Lake in the 1950s.
Coptodon is a genus of cichlids native to fresh, brackish and coastal marine waters in Africa with C. zillii also found in the Middle East. It is the only genus in the tribe Coptodonini. Formerly included in Tilapia, this genus and tribe was separated in 2013. Despite the change in genus, Coptodon spp. are still referred to by the common name tilapia. Several species are important in local fisheries and a few are aquacultured.
There are two major sources of fish in Uganda; one is from aquaculture, the other from fishing in rivers and lakes. Different types of fish flourish in different water sources. The waters of Uganda contain an impressive array of fish species—over 90 in all. This count does not include the Haplochromis complex, which itself is made up of more than 200 species.
Oreochromis mortimeri, the Kariba tilapia or kurper bream, is a species of cichlid, formerly classified as a Tilapiine cichlid but now placed in the genus Oreochromis, the type genus of the tribe Oreochromini of the subfamily Pseudocrenilabrinae. It is found in the rivers of south central Africa especially the middle Zambezi where it is endangered by the spread of invasive congener Oreochromis niloticus.
Lake Victoria supports Africa's largest inland fishery, with the majority of present catch being the invasive Nile perch, introduced to the Lake in the 1950s. Prior to the introduction of Nile perch as well as Nile tilapia, the fish community was very different and consisted mainly of 'Ngege' and Victoria tilapia as well as vast numbers of Haplochromis species. Fish communities in the first half of the 20th century are known primarily from a unique fisheries survey conducted in 1927-1928 by the Colonial Office.
Lake Sare is a lake in western Kenya that lies between the Yala Swamp and Lake Victoria. It has potential as a site for restocking fish species that have become endangered in Lake Victoria, but due to lack of management the lake ecology is steadily degrading.
