MultiTip ER - Policy Insights and Implications
Left: Dried dagaa catch is collected and packaged for regional transport.
Right: Nile perch catch is placed in containers with ice for international transport.
In Phase 1, policy briefs proved to be an effective and context-appropriate method of sharing research insights with stakeholders in the Lake Victoria region.
MultiTip-ER (Phase 2) continues this approach by translating its findings into targeted policy briefs focused on enhancing the resilience of Lake Victoria.
| MultiTip Policy Brief #1 |
Size-Selective Fishing: Trade-Offs and Ecosystem Consequences |
| MultiTip Policy Brief #2 | |
| MultiTip Policy Brief #3 | |
|
MultiTip Policy Brief #4 |
Stakeholders’ perceptions and the future of Nile perch in Lake Victoria |
|
MultiTip Policy Brief #5 |
Fishers‘ preferences for Monitoring Control and Surveillance Systems |
In addition to policy briefs, to strengthen evidence-based fisheries policy, MultiTip-ER collaborated with local stakeholders to produce an Occasional Report in 2025. To read this, click here.
Size-Selective Fishing: Trade-Offs and Ecosystem Consequences
MultiTip - ER Policy Brief #1
Authors: Chrispine Nyamweya, Johannes Kammerer
Adjusting size-selective fishing practices in the Nile perch fishery must take into account the existing fundamental trade-offs in ecological resilience and economic yield between the fish species in Lake Victoria. A comparative multi-model analysis reveals patterns of conflict between harvest objectives across key species -Nile perch, Dagaa, haplochromines, and Nile tilapia - under different size-selectivity scenarios. These findings highlight the need for robust, integrated management strategies that account for both ecological dynamics and fisheries productivity.
To read more on the research behind this finding, click here.
Subsidizing Sustainable Dagaa Nets at Lake Victoria
MultiTip - ER Policy Brief #2
Authors: Sorell de Silva, Florian Diekert, Tillmann Eymess, Timo Goeschl, Robert Kayanda, Joseph Luomba, Horace Owiti
Can price discounts on recommended fishing gear help fishers make more sustainable gear choices?
Sustainable fishing is critical for Lake Victoria's ecosystem and livelihoods. This study explores how offering price discounts on recommended fishing gear increases their adoption and use among dagaa fishers. Unlike traditional enforcement-based approaches, subsidies rely on positive incentives to implement sustainable fishing practices.
In a field trial, over four hundred boat owners in Kenya and Tanzania were offered dagaa net panels with 8mm mesh size. At randomly selected landing sites, these 8mm panels were offered at a significant price discount. At the time of the trial, this minimum mesh size was legally enforced in Tanzania, but not in Kenya. We find that a subsidy of US$10 per panel succeeds in removing net panels with mesh sizes below 8mm from the fishery. Moreover, the subsidy remains effective three months later. Subsidies on sustainable gear can therefore offer attractive policy alternatives and should be considered in a cost-benefit analysis.
To read more on the research behind this finding, click here.
This Phase 2 policy brief directly builds on a Phase 1 study on subsidizing dagaa nets
- to read about the study, click here and to read the policy brief, click here.
A Bait Policy for a Sustainable Longline Nile Perch Fishery
MultiTip - ER Policy Brief #3
Authors: Sorell de Silva, Santiago Gómez-Cardona, Bwambale Mbilingi, Herbert Nakiyende, Robert Kayanda
Left: Live Clarias gariepinus bait used in the study.
Right: Nile perch catch from a study participant being weighed.
The longline Nile perch fishery has rapidly expanded across Lake Victoria, offering both economic opportunity and ecological challenges. New evidence from a survey conducted in March 2024 by MultiTip-ER reveals that 71% of fishers rely on wild-sourced bait—primarily haplochromines, Clarias gariepinus, and Mormyrus kannume. This reliance on wild bait is often linked to harmful fishing practices—including the use of illegal gear that captures juvenile fish, unintended by-catch of Nile perch, and harvesting in ecologically sensitive wetlands where breeding grounds are disrupted.
In the Nile perch longline fishery,
can aquaculture clarias be an effective and feasible alternative to wild-caught bait ?
Aquaculture clarias bait can be standardized and regulated through suppliers. Therefore, it can be more sustainable than wild-caught bait. The use of clarias as bait has the potential to reduce the negative impacts of catching bait from ecologically vulnerable areas. Moreover, a bait policy has the potential to improve selectivity and catch outcomes due to higher quality and possibility to grow bait to larger sizes.
In 7 landing sites in Lake Victoria, Uganda, we study the effectiveness of aquaculture clarias as an alternative to wild-caught bait. We find that aquaculture bait has comparable catch outcomes to commonly used types of bait of the same size, making them a suitable substitute. However, our research also shows that mainly those who have previous experience with clarias as bait are willing to buy aqaculture clarias. For those who have no experience, a subsidy of more than 40% is needed to increase demand and a subsidy of 80% induces most of the fleet to choose this bait.
To read more on the research behind this finding, click here.
Stakeholders’ perceptions and the future of Nile perch in Lake Victoria
MultiTip - ER Policy Brief #4
Authors: Joseph Luomba, Fonda Jane Awuor, Mbilingi Bwambale, Chrispine S. Nyamweya, Karlijn L. van den Broek
Can understanding stakeholder perceptions lead to
stronger, fairer, and more effective governance for the Nile perch fishery in Lake Victoria?
The Nile perch fishery in Lake Victoria is a livelihood lifeline for over four million people across Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. However, signs of ecological stress, including perceived stock decline, increasing water temperatures, habitat degradation and occasional fish kills highlight the growing environmental challenges. These ecological pressures, combined with socio-economic issues such as increasing fishing efforts, reduced factory processing capacities, rising poverty, and the widespread use of illegal fishing gear have raised concerns about a potential collapse of the fishery. In such a transboundary and complex system, technical regulations alone are not enough. Understanding how fisheries stakeholders perceive risk, responsibility, and governance is key to designing policies that people believe in and are willing to follow. Compliance isn’t just about rules; it’s about legitimacy and trust. To explore this connection, we conducted a series of coordinated studies between 2022 and 2024 in the three riparian countries. The studies engaged over 470 stakeholders using perception surveys, mental modeling, and structured interviews to examine what drives stock decline, how governance is viewed, and what strategies communities prefer to adapt or conserve. As part of the survey, we asked respondents a hypothetical question about how they would respondent to potential stock collapse to assess their risk perception.
To read more on the research behind this finding, click here.
This Phase 2 policy brief and study directly builds upon tools developed in Phase 1 study on mental models - to read about this, click here
Fishers‘ preferences for Monitoring Control and Surveillance Systems
MultiTip - ER Policy Brief #5
Authors: Jane Fonda Awuor, Philipp Händel, Bwambale Mbilingi, Pia Pico
To prevent the overexploitation of Lake Victoria’s fishery resources, regulatory measures must not only be established but also effectively enforced. The current enforcement systems across Lake Victoria vary significantly. Uganda has adopted a centralized approach, placing enforcement under the authority of the Fisheries Protection Unit (FPU), while Kenya relies on a multi-agent system in which Beach Management Units (BMUs), elected by fishers at the landing-site level, are primarily responsible for enforcement. Against this backdrop, our study contributes to the ongoing discussion on effective enforcement strategies at Lake Victoria by examining fishers’ preferences for different monitoring, control, and surveillance (MCS) systems, recognizing that institutional acceptance by fishers is key to successful enforcement. MCS, as defined by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in 1981, represents the operational implementation of a fisheries management strategy. Its goal is to support sustainable fisheries by ensuring that appropriate rules are established, monitored, and enforced. Our study explores preferences regarding key institutional features of MCS systems, including the type of responsible institution, associated costs, the likelihood of detecting illegal fishing, levels of corruption, and whether the MCS institution is elected by the fishers themselves.
What preferences do fishers have for key aspects of Monitoring Control and Surveillance (MCS) systems? Are there differences in fishers’ preferences for MCS systems between Kenya and Uganda?
Using a stated-choice experiment, we systematically and empirically examine fishers’ preferences and their willingness to pay for specific institutional settings. Importantly, the willingness-to-pay estimates should be interpreted under the assumption that the preferred institutional settings are effectively implemented and lead to tangible improvements, such as increased catch rates.
To gain insights into which aspects of Monitoring, Control, and Surveillance (MCS) systems matter most to fishers, we presented them with clearly defined hypothetical institutions that varied in terms of enforcement authority and associated fees. The alternatives included landing site-based management, local government-based systems, national government-based systems, and military-based enforcement.
The study was conducted in Uganda and Kenya between May and July 2024 to explore potential cross-country differences in institutional preferences.
To read more on the research behind this finding, click here.
Field Interventions - Expert Prior Beliefs and Intervention Outcomes
MultiTip - ER Occasional Report #1
Authors: Timo Goeschl, Sorell de Silva, Florian Diekert, Santiago Gomez Cardona and Robert Kayanda
This report presents findings from a belief elicitation study conducted with regional fisheries experts on the expected outcomes of our field interventions in Work Package 2. Before sharing the empirical results from our 2024 field studies, we surveyed 38 local stakeholders to document their predictions. The report compares these expectations with actual findings, highlighting both areas of alignment and notable differences. The aim is to better understand existing knowledge gaps and support informed policy dialogue.
To read more on the research behind this finding, click here.
This Occasional Report was a follow through on
MultiTip - ER policy brief #2, Subsidizing Sustainable Dagaa Nets at Lake Victoria - read here.
MultiTip - ER policy brief #3, A Bait Policy for Sustainable Longline Nile Perch Fishery - read here.
