Oreochromis fish species stock assessment

The book endeavors to explain why Oreochromis fish catches from the Kafue Floodplain Fishery are reducing. Growth and mortality of Oreochromis andersonii, Oreochromis macrochir and Oreochromis niloticus of the Kafue Floodplain fishery were investigated between September, 2015 and November, 2015. This study was aimed at investigating the growth and mortality of mouth brooding tilapiines of the Kafue Floodplain fishery. Three stations that represent the major ecological habitats of the Kafue Floodplain fishery were selected. These were: Kafue Road Bridge (swamp), Namalyo (lagoon) and Kakuzu (riverine).Fish specimens were collected using gillnets that were set in the evening and hauled the next morning. Length measurements were taken from each fish specimen using a fish measuring board. Weight was measured using a kitchen balance to the nearest one gramme. Oreochromis macrochir had the largest fishing mortality coefficient (F) of 1.24 while Oreochromis andersonii showed the smallestfishing mortality coefficient of 0.21. This implies that the decrease in fish catches in the Kafue Floodplain fishery cannot be attributed to over-fishing but may be due to natural mortality.