Growth and mortality of nile tilapia, oreochromis niloticus (linnaeus, 1758) of the kafue floodplain fishery, Zambia

Growth and mortality of Oreochromis niloticus of the Kafue Floodplain fishery was investigated between September, 2015 and November, 2015. Three stations that represent the major ecological habitats of the Kafue Floodplain fishery were selected. These were: Kafue Road Bridge (swamp), Namalyo (lagoon) and Kakuzu (riverine). Fish specimens were collected using gillnets that were set in the evening and hauled the next morning. Length measurements were taken from each fish specimen using a fish measuring board. Weight was measured using and electronic balance to the nearest one gramme. One-way Analysis of Variance was performed on all quantitative data using Statistix 9.0 software. Oreochromis niloticus showed a growth coefficient (k) of 0.22.The exploitation ratio was 0.4, implying that the decrease in Oreochromis niloticus catches in the Kafue Floodplain fishery cannot be attributed to over-fishing but may be due to natural mortality.