Kampango (Bagrus meridionalis)

Mohamed bin Zayed Species project number 240533815

Conservation of the critically endangered Kampango fish (Bagrus meridionalis) in Lake Nyasa-Tanzania through community education and empowerment.

The critically endangered Bagrus meridionalis, a catfish in the family Bagridae, is one of large fish species endemic to lake Nyasa. Overfishing is the greatest threat to its population which caused its decline by 90% within 10 years from 2006 to 2016 in the southern part of the lake (i.e., in Malawi and Mozambique). This situation threatened continued existence of B. meridionalis and sustainability of its fishery in lake Nyasa. Despite that less is known from the northern part of the lake in Tanzania where studies on B. meridionalis population dynamics and trend are notoriously missing. This is affecting effective monitoring and sustainable management of the species in this part of the lake. It is also increasing the extinction risk of the species. The lake is also under influence of unsustainable agricultural practices in the lake basin which are polluting the lake. However, it is also not known how this is affecting the growth and survival of the fish in the lake. This project will thus investigate and establish how fishing and anthropogenic pollution have affected the population of B. meridionalis and the quality of its ecological habitat in the northern part of lake Nyasa in Tanzania. The project will also identify species conservation priority areas and offer conservation education to empower communities on B. meridionalis conservation.