Sustainable fisheries in Lake Tanganyika Population genomics and stakeholder involvement for management of LT clupeids.
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| Year of publication | 2017 |
| Type | Conference abstract |
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| Description | Worldwide, fisheries are threatened by the consequences of overfishing and climate change. For people inhabiting a developing region, where the local fisheries is often one of the only protein sources, collapse of the fisheries can be insuperable. The Lake Tanganyika fishery feeds millions of people in one of the poorest regions of the world. Lake Tanganyika is mostly known for its endemic cichlid radiation, a model system for biology of speciation, yet most of its fishery target species are pelagic non-cichlids. About 60% of the catch consists of two endemic clupeid species: Limnothrissa miodon and Stolothrissa tanganicae. Good management of the lake’s natural resources is necessary to increase the sustainability of the clupeid fishery. Formulation of a good management plan is hampered because of knowledge gaps concerning stakeholder opinions, and biology and population genomics of the target species. Using a RAD-seq approach, we looked at the genome of one of the clupeids, Stolothrissa tanganicae to disentangle their population structure, important for the delineation of management units. 96 specimen from three locations over the entire North-South axis of LT were genotyped, resulting in 12 008 SNPs. Preliminary results show a lack of genetic differentiation between sampling locations. Our goal is to combine modern techniques with classical methods to improve knowledge on fisheries science in a data poor environment, with the help of the local authorities, scientists, and communities. The results will be communicated to policy makers, to allow integration into future management strategies. |
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