Nile perch

The Nile perch (Lates niloticus), also known as the African snook, Goliath perch, 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.[2] 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 (a misleading trade name, as the species is not native to Lake Victoria, though they have been introduced there), 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".

Nile perch
Lates niloticus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Latidae
Genus: Lates
Species:
L. niloticus
Binomial name
Lates niloticus
Synonyms
  • Labrus niloticus Linnaeus, 1758
  • Centropomus niloticus (Linnaeus, 1758)
  • Lates niloticus macrolepidota Pellegrin, 1922
  • Lates albertianus Worthington, 1929
  • Lates niloticus albertianus Worthington, 1929
  • Lates nilotus rudolfianus Worthington, 1929

Description

L. niloticus is silver in color with a blue tinge. It has distinctive dark-black eyes, with a bright-yellow outer ring. One of the largest freshwater fishes, it reaches a maximum length of nearly 2 m (6 ft 7 in), weighing up to 200 kg (440 lb).[3] Mature fish average 1.21–1.37 m (4 ft 0 in–4 ft 6 in), although many fish are caught before they can grow this large.[4]

Adult Nile perch occupy all habitats of a lake with sufficient oxygen concentrations, while juveniles are restricted to shallow or nearshore environments. A fierce predator that dominates its surroundings, the Nile perch feeds on fish (including its own species), crustaceans, and insects; the juveniles also feed on zooplankton. Nile perch use schooling as a mechanism to protect themselves from other predators.

Invasive species

Nile perch have been introduced to many other lakes in Africa, including Lake Victoria and the artificial Lake Nasser. The World Conservation Union's Invasive Species Specialist Group considers L. niloticus one of the world's 100 worst invasive species.

The state of Queensland in Australia levies heavy fines on anyone found in possession of a living Nile perch, since it competes directly with the native barramundi, which is similar and grows to 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) long, while the Nile perch grows to 2.0 m (6 ft 7 in) long.

The species is of great commercial importance as a food fish. The Nile perch is also popular with sport anglers, as it attacks artificial fishing lures, and it is also raised in aquaculture.

Lake Victoria introduction
See also: Fishing on Lake Victoria
Nile perch can grow to 2 m (6 ft 7 in) and 200 kg (440 lb).[5]

The introduction of this species to Lake Victoria is one of the most cited examples of the negative effects alien species can have on ecosystems.

The Nile perch was introduced to Lake Victoria in East Africa in the 1950s,[6][7] and has since been fished commercially. In 2003, Nile perch sales to the EU reached 169 million euros. Sport-fishing in the region of Uganda and Tanzania provided additional income from tourism.

Its introduction was ecologically disruptive and is attributed with causing the extinction or near-extinction of several hundred native species, with some populations fluctuating with commercial fishing and the actual Nile perch stocks. The Nile perch initially fed on native cichlids, but with decreasing availability of this prey, it now consumes mainly small shrimp and minnows.

The alteration of the native ecosystem had disruptive socioeconomic effects on local communities bordering the lake. Many local people have been displaced from their traditional occupations in the fishing trade and brought them into the cash economy, or before the establishment of export-oriented fisheries, turned them into economic refugees. At least initially, nets strong enough to hold adult Nile perch could not be manufactured locally and had to be imported for a high price.[8]

The introduction of Nile perch has also had additional ecological effects on shore. Native cichlids were traditionally sun-dried, but because Nile perch have a high fat content (higher than cichlids), they need to be smoked to avoid spoiling. This has led to an increased demand for firewood in a region already hard-hit by deforestation, soil erosion, and desertification.

The Academy Award-nominated documentary Darwin's Nightmare by Hubert Sauper (a French-Austrian-Belgian production, 2004) deals with the damage that has been caused by Nile perch introduction, including the import of weapons and ammunition in cargo planes from Europe, which are then used to export Nile perch, further exacerbating conflict and misery in the surrounding regions.

Regardless of whether it is considered positive or negative,[9] the trophic web of Lake Victoria appears to have been drastically impoverished by the introduction of this novel near-top-level predator. While the ecosystem seems to be moving towards a new equilibrium, neither its former state nor the state of fisheries on Lake Victoria can ever easily be brought back.

Fishing

On Lake Victoria, the only (small) trawlers present belong to research institutes. Small-scale fishing boats are propelled mostly by sails, and paddles are used on the smallest boats. However, the number of boats propelled by outboard engines is on the rise, denoting a greater capital intensity of the local Nile perch fishery.[10] One to three fishermen use a boat. The fish are caught mainly with gill nets and hand lines and sometimes (short) long lines. Those caught by gill nets are usually dead when the nets are lifted. The fish are kept in the boat without protection or ice and taken to landing sites, mostly beaches, where they are weighed and purchased by company buyers using insulated boats or vans with ice, or the fish are bought by local women.

The fishery also generates indirect employment for additional fish processors, transporters, factory employees, and others. All along the lakeshore, 'boom towns' have developed in response to the demands of fishing crews with money to spend from a day's fishing.[Note 1] These towns resemble shanties, and have little in the way of services. Of the 1,433 landing sites identified in the 2004 frame survey, just 20% had communal lavatory facilities, 4% were served by electricity, and 6% were served by a potable water supply.[12]

See also
  • Nile tilapia — a similar-named but different fish that is much smaller and mostly feeds on plant matter

Notes
  1. See for an anthropological study of these towns, called village landings, Beuving (2010).[11]

References
  1. Azeroual, A.; Entsua-Mensah, M.; Getahun, A.; Lalèyè, P.; Moelants, T. & Ntakimazi, G. (2018). "Lates niloticus (errata version published in 2018)". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T181839A125152154. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-3.RLTS.T181839A7746967.en. Retrieved February 22, 2020.{{cite iucn}}: error: |doi= / |page= mismatch (help)
  2. Chrétien, Emmanuelle; Chapman, Lauren J. (2016). "Tropical fish in a warming world: thermal tolerance of Nile perchLates niloticus(L.) in Lake Nabugabo, Uganda". Conservation Physiology. 4 (1): cow062. doi:10.1093/conphys/cow062. ISSN 2051-1434. PMC 5156894. PMID 27990290.
  3. Kaufman, Les (1992). "Catastrophic Change in Species-Rich Freshwater Ecosystems: The lessons of Lake Victoria". BioScience. 42 (11): 846–858. doi:10.2307/1312084. JSTOR 1312084.
  4. Wood (1983). The Guinness Book of Animal Facts and Feats. Sterling Pub Co Inc. ISBN 978-0-85112-235-9.
  5. "Nile perch". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved June 27, 2011.
  6. Pringle, Robert M. (2005). "The origins of the Nile Perch in Lake Victoria". BioScience. 55 (9): 780–787. doi:10.1641/0006-3568(2005)055[0780:TOOTNP]2.0.CO;2.
  7. Pringle, Robert M. (2005). "The Nile Perch in Lake Victoria: local responses and adaptations". Africa: Journal of the International African Institute. 75 (4): 510–538. doi:10.3366/afr.2005.75.4.510. ISSN 0001-9720. JSTOR 3556959. S2CID 7566999.
  8. "RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN LAKE VICTORIA FISHERIES: THE NILE PERCH". fao.org. Retrieved August 17, 2019.
  9. Ben-Yami, M. (1996). "Ecological and socioeconomic aspects of the expansion of Nile Perch in Lake Victoria". In Meyer, R. M.; et al. (eds.). Fisheries Resource Utilization and Policy. Proc. World Fisheries Congress. Theme 2. New Delhi: Oxford & IBH Publ.Co. pp. 95–110. ISBN 1-886106-28-2.
  10. Beuving, 2013
  11. J. Joost Beuving (2010). "Playing pool along the shores of Lake Victoria: Fishermen, careers and capital accumulation in the Ugandan Nile perch business". Africa. 80 (2): 224–248. doi:10.3366/afr.2010.0203.
  12. LVFO (Lake Victoria Fisheries Organisation) (2005). Regional report on Lake Victoria Frame surveys for 2000, 2002 and 2004. Jinja, Uganda: LVFO and the Lake Victoria Environmental Management Project.

Further reading
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