Benthic Habitat Mapping for Humanity-Using Geophysics to Improve Fisheries Conservation at Lake Tanganyika

At risk and underserved communities along the shores of Lake Tanganyika (Tanzania) are dependent on fish. For these people, fish frequently represent the only source of high-protein sustenance. Fish are also a vital commodity for generating cash income, both regionally as a foodstuff and in the global cichlid aquarium trade. The near-shore fishery at Lake Tanganyika is presently under threat from: (1) climate change affecting water temperature and processes of lake mixing; (2) sediment pollution associated with unchecked deforestation; (3) eutrophication from nutrient runoff associated with unregulated agriculture; and (4) illegal fishing practices and overfishing. Collapse of the littoral fishery would be a disaster for the quality of life of growing populations of local people, and irreversibly degrade one of the world’s most spectacularly biodiverse freshwater ecosystems and its food web. To prevent this outcome, marine-type geophysical surveying is needed to fully characterize benthic habitats and substrates, so that targeted aquatic protection strategies can be devised and fisheries management practices can be improved.