Technical report of the July-August 2003 Ibis cruise to zones 1-31n Uganda water of Lake Victoria-IFMP project. Invertebrate communities in the Uganda waters of Lake Victoria, July­-August 2003

Fish is an important food and export commodity for Uganda and indeed the whole East African region. Fish production is driven by, among others, availability and abundance of suitable fish food resources. Invertebrate constitute one of the key food resources for different species of fish. All fish must feed on invertebrates as the first external food after absorption of the yolk sac and through most of the larval growth. A number of fishes in Lake Victoria including mukene (Rastrineobo/a argentea) and some nkejje (haplochromines) species depend entirely on a diet of invertebrates throughout life (Mwebaza-Ndawula 1998) and their productivity and fisheries primarily depends on supply of suitable invertebrate food organisms in the environment