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The role of the Liwonde National Park in conserving fish species diversity in the upper Shire River, Malawi

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dc.contributor.author Kapute, Fanuel
dc.date.accessioned 2021-07-16T06:42:29Z
dc.date.available 2021-07-16T06:42:29Z
dc.date.issued 2018
dc.identifier.citation Kapute, F., (2018).The role of the Liwonde National Park in conserving fish species diversity in the upper Shire River, Malawi. URI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14634988.2018.1457389 en_US
dc.identifier.issn URI
dc.identifier.uri .http://read.dukeupress.edu/aehm/article-pdf/21/2/132/847309/132kapute.pdf
dc.identifier.uri 192.168.2.8:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/186
dc.description.abstract Tremendous decline of fish catches in Lake Malawi, mainly due to uncontrolled fishing, is a clear evidence of challenges of managing a common/open resource. East of the Shire River lies the protected area known as Liwonde National Park about 538 km2.Species diversity around the National Park including the southeast of LakeMalawi ,Lake.Malombe, and the upper Shire River were studied to determine if the moratorium in the park has any impact to the fishery in these areas. Fish samples were collected using a variety of fishing gears including mosquito nets, gill nets, scoop nets, cast nets, and hand lines from southeast arm of Lake Malawi, Upper Shire River, Lake Malombe, and the area near the Liwonde Barrage. Over 40 species belonging to 27 genera and 6 families were sampled compared to 50 species recorded in earlier studies suggesting that, despite the general decline in the fish species diversity, this area still maintains its resilience. The family Cichlidae was the most diverse with 19 genera followed by the Cyprinidae with 4 genera. These results showed that Cichlidae and Cyprinidae fish species that have nea disappeared in Lake Malawi are still found in considerable abundance in the nearly the Shire River especially in areas around the National Park. Most of the determined fish species originated from surrounding areas to the park suggesting that it is a breeding area for fishes that are caught upstream and downstream. Findings underpin the importance of managing and protecting the National Park or even establishing other moratoriums for the same en_US
dc.language.iso en en_US
dc.publisher Aquatic Ecosystem en_US
dc.subject Lake Malawi en_US
dc.subject Lake Malombe en_US
dc.subject moratorium en_US
dc.title The role of the Liwonde National Park in conserving fish species diversity in the upper Shire River, Malawi en_US
dc.type Article en_US


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