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Lydia Gaspare

Lecturer

School of Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Technology

Aquatic Science and Fisheries Technology (DASFT)

Biography

Dr. Lydia Gaspare Kanyairita is a Senior Lecturer and Head of the Department of Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Technology at the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. She holds a PhD in International Environment and Development Studies from the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU), specializing in fisheries socio-ecological systems.

Dr. Kanyairita’s research focuses on sustainable small-scale fisheries, fish population dynamics and stock assessment, marine biodiversity conservation, post-harvest fisheries technologies, and value chain analysis to enhance food security and livelihoods. Her work integrates traditional ecological knowledge with scientific approaches and emphasizes gender, youth inclusion, and climate change adaptation in coastal communities.

She has led and collaborated on numerous national and international research projects, including the GIZ-supported BIOEELS-TZ project on the biodiversity and conservation of freshwater eels in Tanzania. She also works on marine litter and pollution, environmental monitoring, and participatory co-management approaches.

Dr. Kanyairita has supervised multiple PhD and MSc students and has published widely in peer-reviewed journals on fisheries ecology, biodiversity, pollution, and socio-economic dimensions of fisheries. She is an active member of regional and international scientific networks, including WIOMSA and Women in Marine Science (WiMS), and regularly contributes to policy engagement, capacity building, and stakeholder-driven research in the Western Indian Ocean region.

Research Interest

  • Fish biodiversity and conservation
  • Freshwater and marine eel (Anguillid) ecology and conservation
  • Coral reef fisheries and reef fish ecology
  • Sustainable small-scale and artisanal fisheries
  • Ecosystem-based fisheries management (EBFM)
  • Socio-ecological systems in fisheries
  • Climate change impacts and adaptation in coastal and aquatic systems
  • Post-harvest fisheries technologies and value chains
  • Gender and youth dimensions in fisheries and aquaculture
  • Coastal and marine resource management
  • Marine and freshwater environmental monitoring
  • Marine pollution and marine litter (including plastics)
  • Participatory co-management of fisheries resources
  • Livelihoods, food security, and nutrition from fisheries
  • Biodiversity data mobilization and management
  • Policy-relevant fisheries and biodiversity research

Contacts

Email:

Projects

Assessing the biodiversity of eels (Anguillidae and Congridae) of Tanzania: Promoting Sustainable Fisheries and Habitat Protection through Environmental Monitoring and Capacity Building (BIOEELS-TZ).” Supported by GIZ. https://meerwissen.org/partnership-projects/bioeels-tz

 

Billfish Interactions, Livelihoods, and Linkages for Fisheries Sustainability in the Western Indian Ocean (BILLFISH - WIO)” Supported by WIOMSA-MASMA. Project Team - The Billfish WIO

Samaki: Fisheries, nutrition, livelihoods, gender and rights in Tanzania. Supported by NORAD. SAMAKI - Samaki project webpage (udsm.ac.tz)

Research Supporting African MSMEs to Provide Safe and Nutritious Food (RSM2SNF), supported by The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Lydia Gaspare (msu.edu)

Publications

MSc. and PhD thesis

  1. Gaspare, L. Levels and distribution of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in interstitial water, surface sediments and oysters from the intertidal areas of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. MSc.  Thesis, University of Dar es Salaam. 2007
  2. Kanyairita, L. Linking ecological and social elements to sustain coral reef fisheries: A case of groupers [Epinephelidae] in Mafia Island, Tanzania”. PhD thesis, Norwegian University of Life Sciences. 2016 https://nmbu.brage.unit.no/nmbu-xmlui/handle/11250/2447959 

Peer-reviewed articles

  1. Gaspare, L., Machiwa, J. F., Mdachi, S. J. M., Streck, G., & Brack, W. (2009). Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) contamination of surface sediments and oysters from the inter-tidal areas of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Environmental Pollution, 157(1), 24-34. 

    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2008.08.002

 

  1. Gaspare, L., & Bryceson, I. (2013). Reproductive biology and fishery-related characteristics of the Malabar Grouper (Epinephelus malabaricus) caught in the coastal waters of Mafia Island, Tanzania. Journal of Marine Biology, 2013. https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/786589

 

  1. Gaspare, L., Bryceson, I., & Mgaya, Y. D. (2015). Temporal and spatial trends in size, biomass, and abundance of groupers (Epinephelinae) in Mafia Island Marine Park: fishers’ perceptions and underwater visual census surveys. Fisheries Management and Ecology, 22(4), 337-348. https://doi.org/10.1111/fme.12133 

 

  1. Gaspare, L., Bryceson, I., & Kulindwa, K. (2015). Complementarity of fishers' traditional ecological knowledge and conventional science: Contributions to the management of groupers (Epinephelinae) fisheries around Mafia Island, Tanzania. Ocean and Coastal Management, 114, 88-101. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2015.06.011

     

  2. Lyasenga, T. J., Mwijage, A. P., Shilla, D. J., Mahugija, J. A. M., Gaspare, L., Shilla, D. A., & Mfilinge, P. L. (2021). Diet and isotopic metrics of predatory and prey fish in two estuaries with different degrees of anthropogenic disturbances: the case study of Wami and Pangani rivers in Tanzania. Advances in Oceanography and Limnology, 12(2).  https://doi.org/10.4081/aiol.2021.9987

     

  3. Kadagi N.I, Wambiji N, Mann B, Parker D, Daly R, Thoya P, Rato DA, Halafo J, Gaspare L, Sweke EA, Ahmed S. Status and challenges for sustainable billfish fisheries in the Western Indian Ocean. Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries. 2022 Sep 23:1-27. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11160-022-09725-8

 

  1. Hanel R, Gaspare L, Mwakosya C, Kanyairitha C, Kaijage L L, Kammann U, Wysujack K (2024) Assessing the biodiversity of eels of Tanzania - Promoting sustainable fisheries through environmental monitoring and capacity building (BIOEELS). Bremerhaven: Thünen Institute of Fisheries Ecology, 2 p, Project Brief Thünen Inst 2024/02a, DOI:10.3220/PB1705398344000

     

  2. Hanel R, Gaspare L, Mwakosya C, Kanyairitha C, Kaijage LL, Kammann U, Wysujack K (2024) Bewertung der biologischen Vielfalt von Aalen in Tansania (BIOEELS). Bremerhaven: Thünen-Institut für Fischereiökologie, 2 p, Project Brief Thünen Inst 2024/02, DOI:10.3220/PB1705398049000

     

  3. Elmy, F.I., Gaspare, L., Mfilinge, P.L. & Lusana, J.L. (2024). Genetic structure and demographic history of Anguilla bicolor from Tanzania based on mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I sequence: Implications for effective management and conservation strategies. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 34(7), e4225. https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.4225 

     

  4. Kuboja, B. N., Onyango, P., & Gaspare, L. K. (2024). Fishing for the Future: Exploring the Effect of Relational Well-being on (Un) Sustainable Practices among Nile Perch Fishers of Lake Victoria, Tanzania. Tanzania Journal of Development Studies, 22(1), 135-161.
  5. Laurian, K., Gaspare, L., Wysujack, K., Mwakosya, C., & Hanel, R. (2025). Diversity and biological characterization of anguillid eels in Pangani and Rufiji river systems, Tanzania: Implications for conservation. Journal of Fish Biology, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1111/jfb.70123
  6. Mwanjali, E., Kadagi, N. I., Wambiji, N., & Gaspare, L. (2026). Structure and socio-economics of the value chain of the artisanal billfish fishery in Tanzania, Western Indian Ocean: Implications for management and conservation. Ocean & Coastal Management, 274, 108095.

Policy Brief

Gaspare, L., Mwakosya, C., Kaijage, L., Kanyairitha, C., Wysujack, K. & Hanel, R. (2024): Environmental Monitoring and Genetic Identification of Freshwater Fish Species Enable the Conservation of Biodiversity in Coastal Rivers of Tanzania. Policy Brief. University of Dar Es Salaam. United Republic of Tanzania. 8 p.

 https://www.udsm.ac.tz//upload/20240228_011655_UNIT81_Policy%20brief.pdf

 

Hanel, R., Gaspare, L., Mwakosya, C., Kanyairtha, C., Kaijage, L. L., Kammann, U., & Wysujack, K. (2024). Assessing the biodiversity of eels of Tanzania-Promoting sustainable fisheries through environ-mental monitoring and capacity building (BIOEELS). Thünen-Institut, Bundesforschungsinstitut für Ländliche Räume, Wald und Fischerei.