This doctoral thesis examines the challenges to co-management in the Tanzania part of Lake Victoria. The study mainly addresses the Nile perch fishery and uses the fishing communities of Bukoba Rural district, Tanzania as a case study. Co-management in Lake Victoria is defined as the sharing of the management responsibilities between the state and the fishing communities. Co-management was adopted in the Lake Victoria fisheries on the understanding that it has the capacity to provide space in which the poor resource users could be empowered to sustainably manage their resource base. The assumption was that the sharing of the management responsibilities between the state and the community of users would have led to equity in resource access, poverty reduction and resource sustainability. Thus, reducing the role of the state and enhancing that of the communities was seen as a solution to the problems of poverty and illegal fishing that are threatening the sustainability of the fishery and the fishers dependent on it. However, in spite of these proclaimed efforts, illegal fishing and poverty in Lake Victoria remain major threats to the long-term sustainability of the fishery, a fact that is raising questions on the efficacy of co-management in Lake Victoria. These questions have particularly focused on the co-management model and the neo-liberal ideals that underlie it, namely decentralization, participation and accountability. The central argument in this thesis, however, is that co-management performance in Lake Victoria is to a large extent shaped by the complex international, national, and local context in which it is implemented and which in turn shapes the problems of poverty and illegal fishing that co-management is supposed to address. The study concludes that the international and national politics behind the Nile perch fishery intersect with the cultural and social context in which the fishery is embedded to shape co-management performance at the local level. For analysis, the study applies a multi-level approach and draws insights from the common pool resources theory, the actor-oriented approach, the entitlement framework, and the theory of the state. Detailed interviews across scale, secondary data, policy documents, and laws, supported by quantitative data are the methods applied.

The object of this study is to design demembranation method on four freshwater species and its application on study of the influence of HgCl2 on the axoneme and motity sperm motility parameters. Demembranation was designed and examined for all investigated species common carp (Cyprinus carpio), sterlet (Acipenser ruthenus), perch (Perca fluviatilis) and african catfish (Clarias gariepinus). One-step and two-step method was designed and tested for common carp. One-step method was designed for sterlet and perch. Two-step method of demembranation was designed for african catfish. Demembranation was designed and examined for all species under examination. Sperm motility was evidently increased above normal physiological value. Other sperm motility parameters (velocity, percent of motile cells) slightly decreased. HgCl2 in concentration 0,01 mM to the demembranation medium didn't show effect on flagellar microtubule aparat and then to the motility parameters, except sterlet; demembranated sterlet sperm was inhibited at all used concentration of HgCl2. Concentration 0,1 mM had inhibition effect on carp and africant catfish spermatozoa. Concentration 1 mM HgCl2 inhibited sperm of all tested species.

Aim of my work is influence of high level breeding of Euroasian perch on quality of water and operation of mechanicle drum filter and fluized bed biofilter. Euroasian perch is reared in recirculating aquaculture systeme. Fish were devide into six groups in dependence on their body weight. Groups of fish with avarage start weight (g) {$\pm$} SD; biomass (kg) 232,9 {$\pm$} 10,0; 15,14 (I), 196,4 {$\pm$} 8,1; 15,32 (II), 139,8 {$\pm$} 6,1; 15,10 (III), 102,4 {$\pm$} 5,5; 15,06 (IV), 59,4 {$\pm$} 5,5; 15,04 (V), 37,7 {$\pm$} 7,5; 15,00 (VI) were put into plastic tank (600l). Three measurement was with fed fish and three measurement with food-deprived fish. Fed day was organised like feeding period (light phase) 12 hours and 12 hours non-feeding period (dark phase). First part of my project was about impact mechanicle filtration to remove solids from water. Mechanical filter can keep the water quality on perfect level for fish farming. Second part was about evaluation of nitrifying biologickle filters. Biologicle filtration was did her function well, because levels of amonia, nitrite and nitrate were keep on optimum values. Third part of my project was about measurement of oxygen consumption and amonia excretion. Was observed significant diurnal changes of oxygen consumption and amonia excretion for fed fish. For food-deprived fish was observed significant diurnal changes of oxygen consuption. Changes of amonia excretion were not significant.

Patterns in 0+ fish distribution along longitudinal and depth profiles were studied in five canyon-shaped reservoirs in the Czech Republic. In two canyon-shaped and one shallow well-mixed reservoirs the efficiency of fry trawls was investigated during late summer for juveniles and in one canyon-shaped reservoir the efficiency of ichthyoplankton trawls was investigated during spring for larvae and early juveniles.

Top predators in aquatic ecosystems often have strong top-down effects on the ecosystem. Northern pike (Esox lucius) has been documented to cause whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus) populations to diverge into different ecomorphs. This can facilitate piscivory in other predators as a novel resource becomes available to them in the form of dwarf whitefish. The aim of this study is to examine whether the presence of pike causes Eurasian perch (Perca fluviatilis) to shift their diet from insectivory to piscivory, and whether this is directly driven by whitefish polymorphism. Stomach contents of 147 perch from lakes with and without pikes were analyzed. The results show that the presence of pike has a clear influence on the diet of the perch. In lakes without pike, perch are mostly insectivorous, and in lakes with pike, they are mostly piscivorous. This diet shift appears to be driven by whitefish availability, as a majority of the diet of perch in pike lakes consisted of whitefish, while none of the fish eaten by perch in non-pike lakes was whitefish. In addition, the results showed that perch undergo the diet shift from insectivory to piscivory at a smaller size when coexisting with pike. This study can be added to the growing body of evidence for the ecological significance of pike.

Genetically structured populations arise when gene flow between groups of individuals is hindered by geographical, behavioural or temporal barriers. The identification of such groups is important for understanding evolution and has large implications for conservation concern. The field of population subdivision has received a lot of interest throughout the years and gained empirical support from a number of species. However, very little is known about population structure at small spatial scales, especially in a highly mobile species such as fish. The main object for my thesis was to further investigate population differentiation, explicitly at small spatial scales in the Eurasian perch. My results show that in this species, genetic differentiation occurs, even at very small spatial scales, both within lakes and in the Baltic Sea. Additionally, the differentiation can be stable over years and thus have a large impact in the evolution of adaptation to different environments. I also found barriers to gene flow that overlapped with the largest change in spring temperature, suggesting a temporal difference in spawning. Morphological differences were found at these small scales as well which indicates that a difference in food resources might be an underlying cause of change. My thesis work shows that the aquatic environment might not be as homogenous as widely thought and that there could be barriers or adaptations to different environments that hinder the fish from genetic panmixia. Slight patterns of isolation by distance (IBD) were found in the Baltic Sea, implying that the distance (i.e. currents) effect the level of differentiation via drifting of larvae and/or small fish. However, I have also theoretically investigated the IBD model of and seen that it is no longer correct when differences in population sizes are introduced. The pattern of IBD can mean high levels of gene flow or no gene flow at all, solely dependent on population size differences and fluctuations. My thesis has resulted in new and important findings regarding the existence and cause of genetic differentiation at very small spatial scales and thus added new knowledge into the field of evolution and speciation. In addition, my results also give insights into the contemporary state of the Eurasian perch and future evolutionary potential.

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