Rwandan Children On Lake Kivu Editorial Image

Rwandan children on lake Kivu jump into the water from the traditional fisherman boat. Lake Kivu is one of the African Great Lakes. It lies on the border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda. The lake, near Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the CongoThe lake covers a total surface area of some 2,700 km2 and stands at a height of 1,460 metres above sea level. Native fish include species of Barbus, Clarias, and Haplochromis, as well as Nile Tilapia. Limnothrissa miodon, one of two species known as the Tanganyika sardine, was introduced in 1959 and formed the basis of a new pelagic zone fishery. In the early 1990s, the number of fishers on the lake was 6,563, of which 3,027 were associated with the pelagic fishery and 3,536 with the traditional fishery. Widespread armed conflict in the surrounding region from the mid-1990s resulted in a decline in the fisheries harvest.