Fish diseases in Ugandan waters

This is a collaboration project between Department of Zoology at Makerere University (DZMU), the Ugandan Government’s National Fisheries Resources Research Institute (NaFIRRI) and the Fish Disease Research Group (FDRG) at the Department of Biology at the University of Bergen. The project is under the Frame Agreement between Makerere University and the University of Bergen.

The project aims at identifying and characterising new pathogens of selected fish species and registration of presence and prevalence of known fish pathogens (species of protozoa, bacteria and viruses) in Ugandan waters. Samples are taken from rivers, lakes, and aquaculture plants and ponds. The samples are prepared and processed at DZMU and FDRG.

The project is now concentrating on African sharptooth catfish (Clarias gariepinus), Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) and Nile perch (Lates niloticus), species important both to the emerging aquaculture and the natural fisheries in Uganda.

In addition to research, and based on current activities at DZMU, the project aspires to build capacity and competence in fish diseases research and management in close collaboration with NaFIRRI and other Ugandan and regional partners.