Silver cyprinid

Silver cyprinid
Conservation status

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Cypriniformes
Family: Cyprinidae
Genus: Rastrineobola
Fowler, 1936
Species: R. argentea
Binomial name
Rastrineobola argentea
(Pellegrin, 1904)

The silver cyprinid, Rastrineobola argentea, is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinidae, the only member of the genus Rastrineobola.

It is found in the Lake Victoria of Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. Its local names are omena (Kenya), dagaa (Tanzania) and mukene (Uganda).

Being a fast-swimming rather small fish of the open waters, it has been better able to withstand the ecological upheaval caused mainly by the introduced predator Lates niloticus (Nile perch) than most other local species. It is not considered a threatened species by the IUCN.

Fishery

Dagaa/mukene/omena is an important fish for Lake Victoria fishermen. It is caught using light attraction during moonless nights.

Food

Dagaa/mukene/omena from Lake Victoria is an important fish in the diet of people in eastern and southern Africa.[1] The fish is caught during moonless nights and in the morning it is sold to women who spread it out for drying in the sun. This takes one day or more, depending on the weather. Unfortunately, the best catches are made during the rainy season when drying is difficult resulting in lower quality of the dried product. The lowest quality is however still usable as chicken feed. Drying is often done on the sand, on rocks or on old nets spread on the grass. Drying racks have not caught on, neither have salting or smoking. The dried fish is packed in sacks and traders take the fish to the market. A major wholesale market for dried dagaa is in Mwanza, Tanzania, from where it is transported all over eastern and southern Africa for use as food or chicken feed. Sometimes it competes with dried kapenta which is usually preferred though more expensive.

References

  1. ↑ Reynolds, J. Eric (ed.) (1993). Marketing and consumption of fish in eastern and southern Africa: selected country studies. FAO, Fisheries Technical paper. No. 332. p. 194. ISBN 9251033447.