Browsing by Author "Magolyo, Berling Sospeter"

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    Livelihood dynamics of fishing communities in response to declining fishery resources: a case study of three Islands in Lake Victoria, Tanzania
    (University of Dar es Salaam, 2017) Magolyo, Berling Sospeter
    The falling trends of fishery resources in Lake Victoria present considerable challenges to the fishing communities, and the scanty available literature inadequately addresses how fishing communities thrive under such circumstances. This study investigated livelihood dynamics of fishing communities in Lake Victoria, Tanzania. Data were collected from 246 respondents through interviews, focus group discussions and observations. Both descriptive and multivariate analyses were run using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS 19.0). Study findings revealed that the decline of fishery resources has rendered communities to indulge into devising a range of alternative strategies, including investment into heavy and modern fishing outfits, unscrupulous fishing practices, and migration. Results from binary logistic regression showed that choices for particular strategies were determined by a diverse range of factors. For example, fishers living in fishing camps had higher chances to sail far away in search of better catch compared to fishers originating from established households within villages or at beach area. Factors such as age, education level, gender and origin of fishers enhanced fishers’ choices for particular strategies. However, in effort to revamp the fishery sector, different measures are already in practice including BMUs operation which has proved to deter unscrupulous fishing practices. Hence in order to safeguard Lake Victoria’s fisheries, it is recommended that measures such as closed fishing season, prevention of unscrupulous fishing practices, and restricted fishing access should be tightened and enforced. Meanwhile, establishment of other income generating activities such as aquaculture and farming should be given more attention to the communities around so as to reduce fishing pressure and allow rejuvenation of Lake Victoria’s fishery ecology and replenish stock of fishery resources.