Fish species occurrences in the mid Tana River Basin, Kenya

Study Extent

Tana River county: Bububu wetland near Wenje, Jamhuri at Mkuruni and Ghabhia wetland at Malindi ya Ngwena near Hola. Garissa county: Bour-Algi near Garissa town.

Sampling

Beach Seining: This technique was only applicable in lagoon waters with flat bottoms. In this study a seine of 3x1.2 m net attached to two wooden poles of 3.18 cm in diameter and a size of 6.4 mm was used. Fish were trapped by encircling into the seine. The bottom lead line had lead weights strung or crimped onto it to give weight to the net whereas the top line had cork/polystyrene/plastic floats to keep the top of the seine near the water surface.
Gill netting: Sampling of fishing in deeper portions of the sites and river was carried out by the use of nylon monofilament gill nets of various mesh sizes (25-100mm knot to knot). Gill nets capture fish by entanglement in a fabric mesh that is fixed vertically on the water column. The bottom of the mesh is attached to a lead line and top to a float line. Gill netting required two trips into the water, one to deploy the net and one to haul the fish

Method steps

1. Step 1: Site selection. Step 2: Sampling site and date recorded. Step 3: Specimen collected and IDs assigned, photographs taken. Step 4: Specimens fixed in 10% formalin in the field awaiting permanent preservation at the National Museums of Kenya (NMK) ichthyology collection lab. Step 5: Specimens assigned a catalogue number at NMK.

All specimens identified to species level.

1. Actinopterygii
   common name: Ray-finned fishes rank: class
2. Sarcopterygii
   common name: Lobe-finned Fish rank: class

Tana River Basin, south eastern Kenya