A synthesis of fish life-history parameters in the four largest African Great Lakes

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

12-1-2026

Abstract

African Great Lakes (AGL) fisheries play a critical role in socio-economic security and shape the biodiversity, structure, and functioning of the AGL ecosystems; yet fish stock assessments remain hindered by limited institutional attention to inland fisheries globally and the lack of accessible and comprehensive biological information on fish life histories. To assess the current state of knowledge and identify knowledge gaps for AGL fish life histories within the context of current fisheries management frameworks, we synthesized all available life-history parameter values for asymptotic length (L∞), Brody growth coefficient (K), size at maturity (Lm), and instantaneous rates of total mortality (Z) and natural mortality (M) for fish species from the four largest AGLs: Malawi, Tanganyika, Turkana, and Victoria. We determined that life-history parameters have only been estimated for < 20% of all documented fish species in each lake, and transboundary life-history assessments are limited. We summarized associated data on survey period, region, and analytical methods, revealing that length frequency-based methods are used more often than hard-structure-based methods to estimate growth, necessitating future research on spawning periods and fishing gear selectivity to reduce bias and error in L∞ and K by accounting for seasonal growth variations and size-selective mortality. We then assessed whether the current fisheries management frameworks for each lake are aligned with the knowledge of fish life histories, revealing that fishing minimum size regulations are often at or above Lm, which could contribute to stock destabilization from the harvest of primarily large mature fish. Finally, we highlight the potential for these life-history parameters to be applied to future stock assessments for all four AGLs, and we underscore the need for standardized transboundary fisheries surveys.

Publication Title

Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries

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