Large-scale study: Congolese fishermen report decline in fish stocks on Lake Tanganyika

Fishermen on Lake Tanganyika | © Charlotte Huyghe Fishermen working on Lake Tanganyika in eastern Congo experience a lack of safety and want better enforcement of existing regulations. They also report a decline in the lake's fish stocks. These are some of the findings of a large international study led by KU Leuven based on 1018 interviews with stakeholders in the area. The study was published in the Journal of Great Lakes Research . Lake Tanganyika is the second largest freshwater lake in the world and is located in four countries: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Burundi, and Zambia. The fisheries on the lake play a vital role in providing food to eastern Congo, one of the poorest regions in the world. Exploitation of natural resources and pollution put the fish stocks under pressure.