**Author details**

#### Job Mwamburi

Bottom lake sediments are important archives of the lake and anthropogenic indicators of their catchment. In *L. Victoria*, although the deeper (> 40 m) depositional areas are in the open lake, visual observations show that most of the offshore sediments consists of muddy deposits plus significant shell remains, with more sandy type of sediments in some of the areas off

The sediment organic carbon contents varied spatial, but there were no significant variations between the different sampling periods. The surficial sediments are organic rich and are characterized by a relatively high water content, with over 89% of the samples containing water contents of greater than 75%. In 2012 survey, sediment organic matter contents were more

An evaluation of the SOM at different heating durations at constant temperature 550°C and at very high temperatures of 950°C did not show any significant differences. High primary production and greater settling in deeper area contribute to the nature of sediments deposited

The importance of sediments in adsorption of contaminant substances and influencing geochemical processes within the lake are also emphasized. It is recommended that continuous monitoring strategies are adopted in view of the new cage culture developments initiated in most of the African tropical lakes, including Lake Victoria, as uneaten feeds and operations may influence water and sediment quality in cases where designed best management practices are not fully implemented. There is a need to prioritize sediment research including the microbial component, porewater exchanges, and sediment fluxes which are rarely incor-

The chapter contents includes information and data from surveys which were undertaken through the support received from the director of the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute. Similarly, Lake Victoria Environmental Management Project (LVEMP) provided field support during 2003, 2004, 2010, and 2012 surveys. Surveys conducted in 1994/1995 were supported by the Kenya-Belgium project in freshwater ecology. I particularly thank the KMFRI for providing the research vessels and equipment used in all the field sampling

The author wishes to declare that there is no conflict of interest and the data used is from

original research unless otherwise adapted from cited sources.

river-mouths.

58 Persistent Organic Pollutants

variable and ranged from 1.90 to 33.47%.

porated in major projects.

**Acknowledgements**

activities and laboratory.

**Conflict of interest**

and also are reflected in the relatively high OC contents.

Address all correspondence to: jjmghanga@yahoo.co.uk

Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI), Kisumu Research Centre, Kisumu, Kenya
