Econometric analysis of the effects of water hyacinth on the fish catches in Lake Victoria, East Africa

Abstract

Lake Victoria is Africa’s most important source of inland fishery production. The lake serves as a source of human food and raw material for the fishmeal industry. Several challenges face the lake fishery, including the invasion of water hyacinth. This paper analyses the effects of the invasion of water hyacinth on fishing in Lake Victoria. A static catch per unit of effort functions were estimated using Schaefer models for Lake Victoria fisheries. The investigation on the trend in the lake’s stock during the period 1985 - 2005 focused particularly on the effect of the water hyacinth on fish stocks and fish catches coefficients. The results shows that the fish catch declined due to the growing abundance of water hyacinths. The impact of the hyacinth on the fish catch was greatest in the Kenya section of Lake Victoria.