The Lake Victoria Fisheries Organization (LVFO) was proud to take part in the inaugural Lake Victoria Day Celebrations, held from 18–21 May 2026 at the Nane Nane Nyamhongolo Grounds in Mwanza, Tanzania. Organized by the Lake Victoria Basin Commission (LVBC) together with the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania, the four-day event launched a permanent regional platform dedicated to protecting East Africa’s largest freshwater lake under the theme “Shared Waters, Shared Future: Uniting for a Sustainable Lake Victoria Basin.”
LVFO’s pavilion was one of the event’s premier technical highlights, showcasing how regional science directly supports policy, sustainable management of fisheries and aquaculture as well as the livelihoods of communities. Among other things, visitors explored the Lake Victoria 100 initiative, which revisits and modernizes British researcher Michael Graham’s historic 1927 survey to map a century of ecological change, tracking endemic cichlid biodiversity, water quality, and fish biomass under the banner “A Century of Change, A Vision for the Future.” The booth also featured LVFO’s partnership with the African Center for Aquatic Research and Education (ACARE), alongside hydroacoustic surveys, electronic catch assessment systems, and sustainable aquaculture work that reduces post-harvest losses for lakeshore communities.
The pavilion quickly became a crowd favourite. Interactive maps of fish-population hotspots, a number of projects’ outputs and side-by-side photo comparisons from the 1927 Graham Expedition drew steady crowds, and national media took notice including a front-page feature in the Tanzanian Habari Leo newspaper that spotlighted the booth as a model of science-driven fisheries and aquaculture management and development.
A defining moment came when the Guest of Honor, the Prime Minister of the United Republic of Tanzania, Hon. Dr. Mwigulu Lameck Nchemba, visited the LVFO pavilion. Deputy Executive Secretary of LVFO, Madam Lucy Obungu and a scientist and Assistant Lecturer at the University of Dar es Salaam, Ms. Sophia Shaban led the briefing joined by Tanzania’s Minister for Water, Hon. Jumaa Aweso, explaining how LVFO works with Partner States and international partners to monitor and manage the lake’s fisheries, safeguard water quality, cage culture and address emerging threats. The Prime Minister commended LVFO’s collaborative approach as essential to delivering his directives for a sustainable, well-governed Lake Victoria Basin.
For LVFO, the inaugural Lake Victoria Day reaffirmed a shared regional commitment and a clear pathway for continued collaboration in service of the lake and the millions of people who depend on it.
