Site suitability assessment of selected bays along the Albert Nile for Cage Aquaculture in West Nile region of Uganda

Abstract

Selection and management of sites are among the most significant elements for the success and sustainability of aquaculture operations. Water quality, water depth and water current are three of the major factors that need to be considered before initiating cage culture in a natural water body. This study was conducted to identify suitable sites for cage farming along the Albert Nile of Uganda by assessing the physical, chemical and topographical characteristics over a three month period. Four bays (Odoi, Fundo, Onere and Isirini) were randomly sampled and the results were compared against the acceptable standards. Basing on the physical and chemical criteria, most of the surveyed points were within the acceptable ranges except for the water depths which were lower and total suspended solids which were higher than the recommended ranges. Regarding topographical characteristics, Odoi and Fundo bays were found to be very prone to floating weeds and submergent macrophytes. All the sampled areas within Odoi, Fundo and Onere fishing bays whose depths were found to be more than 2 m can be manipulated to have Low Volume High Density (LVHD) cages while Isirini, Acaar and Ayilebe fishing bays were found not to be suitable for cage culture because they were very shallow.   Key words: Albert Nile, cage culture, site selection, Uganda.