A meeting framework for inclusive and sustainable science

The ABCD conference format (All continents, Balanced gender, low Carbon transport, Diverse backgrounds) mixes live-streamed and pre-recorded talks with in-person ones to reflect a diverse range of viewpoints and reduce the environmental footprint of meetings while also lowering barriers to inclusiveness

The status and distribution of freshwater fishes in the Lake Victoria basin

In terms of hydrology, the Lake Victoria Basin is part of the Nile system, most of which is within the Nilo-Sudan ichthyofaunal province. However, the ichthyofauna of the Lake Victoria Basin differs substantially from most of the downstream Nile basin. It has traditionally been assigned to the East Coast ichthyofaunal province together with the faunas of the systems of Lakes Kyoga, Edward and Kivu, and the coastal rivers of Eastern Africa (Greenwood, 1983; Roberts, 1975; Snoeks et al., 1997). This viewpoint has been challenged and inclusion of the Lake Victoria ichthyofauna into the Nilo-Sudan province has been suggested (Lévêque, 1997; Witte et al., 2009). More recent biogeographic and genetic studies have revealed that Lake Victoria and the smaller lakes in the region harbour a mosaic ichthyofauna composed predominantly of Nilotic and Congolese elements with quite balanced contributions from the two (Meier et al., 2017; Seehausen, 2002). Most of the non-endemic species of Lake Victoria are shared either with the Nile or with the Malagarasi (Congo) system, and very few are shared with coastal rivers. Most of the endemic species have their closest relatives either in the Nile or Congo systems. The large endemic cichlid species radiation evolved from a population of hybrid origins between cichlids from the Nile and the Congo (Meier et al., 2017). The endemic Nothobranchius killifish too derive from two lineages that have their nearest relatives in the Sahel and the Congo respectively (Dorn et al., 2014). Cichlids form the major component of the fish fauna of the Lake Victoria Basin. Other impor tant families are the Cyprinidae, Mormyridae, Clariidae and Poeciliidae. Prior to major anthropogenic disturbances, including the introduction of the Nile Perch (Lates niloticus) and severe habitat deterioration, the system harboured between 600 and 1,000 species of cichl ids, al l but four of them endemic haplochromines (Kaufman et al., 1997; Seehausen, 2002, 2015; Witte et al., 2007). Since the 1980s, an estimated 200 haplochromine species have, however, likely gone extinct and other species have become severely threatened (Seehausen et al., 1997b; Witte et al., 1992, 2007). Unfortunately, several hundred of the haplochromine species remain undescribed, and this includes both extant species and those likely to now be extinct. The numbers of non-cichlids reported in the past appear to have been underestimations, with 69 non-cichlid species listed from the area (excluding the Lake Kyoga region) by this project compared to Snoeks (2000) reporting 45 for Lake Victoria, and Witte et al. (2009) reporting 46 for Lakes Victoria and Kyoga together

Response of fish stocks in Lake Victoria to enforcement of the ban on illegal fishing:are there lessons for management?

Most small-scale inland fisheries in the Global South prohibit fishing gear with smaller meshes than is legally permitted. Nonetheless, in most instances, this is not strictly enforced. But starting in 2017, Uganda and Tanzania ramped up enforcement on Lake Victoria. We used time series hydro-acoustic data to determine whether the strict enforcement achieved the management goal of increased biomass (t) of commercial species and an increase in the biomass of big Nile perch (>50 cm). The biomass for 2018–2021 (under strict enforcement) was expected to be greater than in 2007–2017 (prior to strict enforcement). The biomass of key species fluctuated annually, but no spatial or temporal differences in biomass associated with strict enforcement were evident. Similarly, the biomass of big Nile perch did not increase. Our findings suggest that mesh sizes may have limited influence on fish biomass dynamics in Lake Victoria, and that high primary productivity of the lake, high turnover rates of fish species, and limited compliance by fishers likely counteract the effects of high fishing effort on biomass and size structure of fish. Therefore, the high cost of strict top-down enforcement and the societal cost of lost lives, jobs, and livelihoods may not be justified