Uganda’s big catch
Dec 13, 2006
FISH farming in Uganda is experiencing a huge growth rate of 300 per cent per year. <br>“Fish farming will surpass capture fisheries in 10 years,†said Dick Nyeko, the commissioner for fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture, Animal industry and Fisheries.
By John Kasozi
FISH farming in Uganda is experiencing a huge growth rate of 300 per cent per year.
“Fish farming will surpass capture fisheries in 10 years,†said Dick Nyeko, the commissioner for fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture, Animal industry and Fisheries.
(Capture fisheries are lakes)
The total fish catch is expected to go up to 1,000,000 tonnes, where capture fisheries will be 400,000 tonnes and fish farming 600,000 tonnes.
As the population expands, the demand will attract more people to join the industry.
“Investing in commercial fisheries is a wise decision to make,†said Nyeko.
“The ministry’s aim is to attract the middle class to invest in fish farming. If per capita consumption is to be increased in the future, we should fish farm. And this should be coupled with bait fish farming.â€
The country has 120 commercial fish farmers. With favourable conditions put in place, fish farming industry will meet the export threshold.
In the next five years, the target of 100,000 tonnes could be achieved. The current catch is 10,000 tonnes compared to 500 tonnes in 2000.
Egypt’s catch is 600,000 tonnes. However, Uganda has a competitive advantage over other African countries.
Uganda has first class fish processing facilities which are under utilised at 40 per cent.
Fish export revenues increased from $12m (sh21.6b) in 1990 to $143m (sh257.4b) in 2005, making fish the leading non-traditional export earner.
Other major export earners are coffee and remittances from abroad.
It is thought that fish exports may also be underestimated as they include smuggling and other informal transfers within the region, to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya and Tanzania.
The unrecorded movement may be as high as $80m (sh144b) per year.
The maximum recorded catch was 245,000 tonnes in 1990. The overall trend in fish catches has been upwards over the 1961-2002 period.
Founded in 1993, the Uganda Fish Processors and Exporters Association (UFPEA) experienced a massive increase in sales in 2005. UFPEA brings together all the 20 industrial fish processors with a total capital investment of about $200m (sh360b).
With the birth of the association, the fish sector has transformed into a modern processing industry with increased capital investments, export revenue and improved public private partnership with the Government. Kenya and Tanzania have 12 and 15 processing firms, respectively.
However, the catch estimates have fluctuated over the last few years. This is due to monitoring control and surveillance, catch recording and yield fluctuations in fishing exports, or the temporary virtual collapse of certain fisheries for ecological and other reasons, such as the use of fish poisoning on Lake George.
Fisheries activities are still dominated by canoes, a small portion of which are motorised. The nature of boats and engines to some extent controls the level of fishing efforts.
According to a recent survey by the fisheries department, there are 15,544 boats on Lake Victoria and 10,086 on Lake George. There are at least 29,349 boat owners. The ratio of fishermen to boat owners varies from 3.0 on Lake Victoria down to 1.87 on Lake Albert.
There are 1.86 million people directly dependent on the fisheries, including boat owners, fishermen, fish processors and fish traders.
The sector provides high quality protein to 17 million people, accounting for 50 per cent of animal protein consumption in the country. Therefore, it is a key factor in food security.
The National Fisheries Policy estimates that an additional 160,000 tonnes of fish over and above the 2001 catch of 220,726 tonnes will be required by 2015 in order to maintain per capita consumption levels of 10kg per person annually.
FISH farming in Uganda is experiencing a huge growth rate of 300 per cent per year.
“Fish farming will surpass capture fisheries in 10 years,†said Dick Nyeko, the commissioner for fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture, Animal industry and Fisheries.
(Capture fisheries are lakes)
The total fish catch is expected to go up to 1,000,000 tonnes, where capture fisheries will be 400,000 tonnes and fish farming 600,000 tonnes.
As the population expands, the demand will attract more people to join the industry.
“Investing in commercial fisheries is a wise decision to make,†said Nyeko.
“The ministry’s aim is to attract the middle class to invest in fish farming. If per capita consumption is to be increased in the future, we should fish farm. And this should be coupled with bait fish farming.â€
The country has 120 commercial fish farmers. With favourable conditions put in place, fish farming industry will meet the export threshold.
In the next five years, the target of 100,000 tonnes could be achieved. The current catch is 10,000 tonnes compared to 500 tonnes in 2000.
Egypt’s catch is 600,000 tonnes. However, Uganda has a competitive advantage over other African countries.
Uganda has first class fish processing facilities which are under utilised at 40 per cent.
Fish export revenues increased from $12m (sh21.6b) in 1990 to $143m (sh257.4b) in 2005, making fish the leading non-traditional export earner.
Other major export earners are coffee and remittances from abroad.
It is thought that fish exports may also be underestimated as they include smuggling and other informal transfers within the region, to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya and Tanzania.
The unrecorded movement may be as high as $80m (sh144b) per year.
The maximum recorded catch was 245,000 tonnes in 1990. The overall trend in fish catches has been upwards over the 1961-2002 period.
Founded in 1993, the Uganda Fish Processors and Exporters Association (UFPEA) experienced a massive increase in sales in 2005. UFPEA brings together all the 20 industrial fish processors with a total capital investment of about $200m (sh360b).
With the birth of the association, the fish sector has transformed into a modern processing industry with increased capital investments, export revenue and improved public private partnership with the Government. Kenya and Tanzania have 12 and 15 processing firms, respectively.
However, the catch estimates have fluctuated over the last few years. This is due to monitoring control and surveillance, catch recording and yield fluctuations in fishing exports, or the temporary virtual collapse of certain fisheries for ecological and other reasons, such as the use of fish poisoning on Lake George.
Fisheries activities are still dominated by canoes, a small portion of which are motorised. The nature of boats and engines to some extent controls the level of fishing efforts.
According to a recent survey by the fisheries department, there are 15,544 boats on Lake Victoria and 10,086 on Lake George. There are at least 29,349 boat owners. The ratio of fishermen to boat owners varies from 3.0 on Lake Victoria down to 1.87 on Lake Albert.
There are 1.86 million people directly dependent on the fisheries, including boat owners, fishermen, fish processors and fish traders.
The sector provides high quality protein to 17 million people, accounting for 50 per cent of animal protein consumption in the country. Therefore, it is a key factor in food security.
The National Fisheries Policy estimates that an additional 160,000 tonnes of fish over and above the 2001 catch of 220,726 tonnes will be required by 2015 in order to maintain per capita consumption levels of 10kg per person annually.