"Africa's great lakes in peril." (Lake Victoria)

• Author: Chege, Nancy

(March/April 1992).

For several decades, Lake Victoria, Africa's largest and the world's second largest fresh-water lake, has been a victim of overfishing, pollution, and sedimentation, as World Watch reported in early 1992. Victoria has been referred to as a "dying lake" by some scientists because many species have dwindled in number and are close to extinction, algal growth has exploded extensively, and oxygen levels have dropped very low. But since our 1992 report, representatives of Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania have formed the Lake Victoria Organization to coordinate rescue efforts.

One of those efforts is aimed at the Nile Perch, a voracious predator that was introduced in the early 19608 to increase fish catch, but has almost wiped out smaller species. To save some of these species from extinction, researchers affiliated with local and foreign institutions are breeding 40 different species of haplochromine and the popular ngege (tilapia) in aquariums in the United States and in Europe under an IUCN (World Conservation Union) program.

In response to an increased, international demand for the Nile Perch and other lake fish, commercial fishing fleets have not only displaced local fishermen but have also stripped many women in lakeside communities of one of their jobs. Processing of fish was traditionally performed by women but has now been taken over by large filleting plants. The women have resorted to processing fish waste, commonly referred to as mgongo-wazi, "bare-back" in Swahili. The waste, comprised of head, backbone, and tail, is sun-dried and then deep-fried and sold to local people drawn to its low price and nutritional value.

At the grassroots level, a group of professors, researchers, and community leaders called "Friends of Lake...