| Lake Victory | | | | and fishing methods advanced, overfishing |
| | | | became a problem and catch sizes began to |
| The first recorded information about Lake | | | | drop. The ecosystem of Lake Victoria and its |
| Victoria comes from Arabs traders plying the | | | | surroundings have been badly affected by |
| inland routes in search of gold, ivory, other | | | | human influence. In 1954, the Nile perrch |
| precious commodities and slaves. Excellent | | | | (Lates niloticus) was first introduced into |
| maps known as the Al Adrisi map dated from | | | | the lake's ecosystem in an attempt to improve |
| the 1160s, clearly show as an accurate | | | | fishery yields of the lake. Introduction |
| representation of Lake Victoria, and point it | | | | efforts strengthened during the early 1960s. |
| as being the source of the Nile. | | | | The species was present in small numbers |
| | | | until the early to mid 1980s, when it |
| | | | underwent a massive population expansion and |
| | | | came to dominate the fish community and |
| Lake Victoria is 68,800 square kilometers in | | | | ecology of the world's largest tropical lake. |
| size, making it the continent's largest lake | | | | Also introduced was the Nile tilapia |
| in the largest tropical lake in the world, | | | | (Oreochromis niloticus), now an important |
| and the second largest fresh water lake in | | | | food fish for local consumption. The Nile |
| the world in terms of surface area. Being | | | | perch (Lates niloticus) proved ecologically |
| relatively shallow for its size, with a | | | | and socioeconomic ally disturbing. Together |
| maximum depth of 84 m and a mean depth of 40 | | | | with pollution born of deforestation and |
| m, Lake Victoria, shared by Kenya, Tanzania | | | | overpopulation (of both people and domestic |
| and Uganda, was named after the Queen of | | | | animals), the Nile perch has also brought |
| England. This region of Africa is better | | | | about a massive transformation in the lake |
| known for its large cats and the herds of | | | | ecosystem and to the disappearance of |
| wildebeests, zebras and giraffes that roam | | | | hundreds of endemic Haplochlomine cichlid |
| the savannah plains, its most diverse and | | | | species. Many of these are now accepted to be |
| endangered ecosystems are to be found under | | | | entirely vanished. A number of other species |
| water. | | | | are vanished in the wild, with populations |
| | | | being maintained in zoos and aquaria, e.g. as |
| . | | | | part of the Association of Zoos and |
| | | | Aquarium's Species Survival Plans for these |
| Lake Victory ranks as the seventh largest | | | | species. Some species which were extirpated |
| freshwater by the volume, containing 2,750 | | | | from Lake Victoria itself are known to |
| cubic kilometers of water. It is the source | | | | survive in nearby smaller so-called satellite |
| of the longest branch of the Nile River, the | | | | lakes, such as Lake kyago, Lake Edward, and |
| White Nile, and has a water catchments area | | | | Lake Albert. By the 1950s, popular species, |
| of 184,000 square kilometers. It is a | | | | such as Ngege (Oreochromis esculentus), had |
| biological hotspot with great biodiversity. | | | | reduced so severely that they had become |
| The lake lies within an elevated plateaus in | | | | commercially extinct. |
| the western part of Africa's Great Rift | | | | |
| Valley and is subject to territorial | | | | The only outflow for Lake Victoria is at |
| administration by Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda. | | | | Jinja, in Uganda where it forms the Victoria |
| The lake has a shoreline of 3,440 km, and has | | | | Nile. The water originally drained over a |
| more than 3,000 islands, many of which are | | | | natural rock weir. In 1952 British colonial |
| occupied. These include the Ssese Islands in | | | | engineers irritating out the weir and |
| Uganda. Lake Victoria, shared by Kenya, | | | | reservoir. A standard for imitating the old |
| Tanzania and Uganda, was named after the | | | | rate of outflow called the "agreed curve" was |
| Queen of England. This region of Africa is | | | | established, setting the maximum flow rate at |
| better known for its large cats and the herds | | | | 300 to 1,700 cubic meters per second |
| of wildebeests, zebras and giraffes that roam | | | | depending on the lake's water level. |
| the savannah plains, its most diverse and | | | | |
| endangered ecosystems are to be found under | | | | About the transportation in 1900s Lake |
| water, hence it becomes very popular | | | | Victoria ferries have been an important |
| destination for tourism. | | | | means of transport between Uganda, Tanzania |
| | | | and Kenya. The main ports on the lake are |
| Early in the 20th century, a few decades | | | | Kisumu, Mwanza, Bukoba, Entebbe, Port Bell |
| after Speke's 'discovery', the colonialists | | | | and Jinja. |
| started to exploit Lake Victoria's watershed. | | | | |
| They cleared the surrounding natural | | | | Lake Victory as like other water bodies it |
| vegetation, discarding forests and draining | | | | cause many of disaster especially in the |
| swamps, to plant cash crops, such as tea, | | | | fishing activities and the navigation too, |
| coffee and sugar. | | | | especially the steamer MV Bukoba sank in the |
| | | | lake on October 3, 1995, killing nearly 1,000 |
| The plantations attracted migrant workers who | | | | people. |
| settled in the area. As the population grew | | | | |