Research Fieldwork on Lake Tanganyika

From May-July, 2017, I'll be back out on Lake Tanganyika surveying fishing communities to learn how they are adapting to climate-driven declines in fishery productivity. This builds on research I conducted here as an undergraduate student in 2007, as part of an NSF REU site.

Researching on Lake Tanganyika a decade ago! Photo credit: Jennifer Schmidt

One one hand, it's a blessing to return a decade later to continue working with the good folks at the Tanzania Fisheries Research Institute - Kigoma Centre. On the other hand, it's sobering to see all the negative changes that have taken place in this critical inland fishery over the past ten years. Our goal is to understand fisher adaptations to change in order to help inform and improve fishery management practices to protect livelihoods while conserving this unique lake and it's irreplaceable biodiversity. 

With thanks to the UF Tropical Conservation and Development Program along with the Program for Studies in Tropical Conservation for their generous funding of this ongoing project!