Evaluation of the impacts of lake level changes on fisheries ecology and production in Lake Baringo for fisheries management

This study evaluated trends in lake level changes and there impacts on the fishery production of Lake Baringo to inform policy and decision making for sustainable management of the resource. Fisheries play an important role in the economy of Kenya. This contributes to nutrition and food security, employment and income generation as well as improvement of livelihoods. Water level changes and fisheries data were collected in predetermined sampling stations (Northern, Central and Southern) in lake Baringo. Potential water level change effects on fish production and physicochemical parameters were identified from a Pearson correlation analysis of the data collected on the lake in a long-term scale (1960-April 2021). The results showed a positive trend between the water level changes and the fish catches. However, a strong negative correlation was depicted between water level and key physicochemical parameters such as conductivity, total nitrogen (P < 0.001), turbidity and fluoride (P < 0.05) as well as the water quality index (P < 0.001). This study recommends the need of the integration of water quality assessment approaches and further research on fishery status, based on individual species, in relation to water quality changes in the lake.

Key words; Lake Level, Fisheries Ecology, Management, Ecology, Production