MPs want politicians dealing in immature fish shamed

By Prossy Nandudu
 
Members of Parliament on the Fisheries Forum have asked the National Fisheries Resource Research Institute to produce a list of names of people involved in the smuggling of immature Fish.
 
The call was made by the chairperson of the Forum, Dr.Lulume Bayiga during a fisheries dissemination workshop at Silver Springs Hotel in Kampala.
 
His demand follows reports from the fisheries officers that there are people involved in the fishing of immature fish from Lake Victoria under the protection of Security agencies.
 
“Once we have that list, we as members of parliament will expose them and shame them if that is the only we are going to protect immature fish and the other aquatic life from such people,” said Bayiga.
 
Bayiga said that despite efforts by fisheries authorities to arrest those involved in fishing of immature fish, no action has been taken against the suspects.
 
“If we don’t come up with a list of people trading in immature fish, then it means that the culprits will continue with their illegal activities unnoticed and the fish will eventually disappear,” Bayiga added.
 
The workshop organized by National Fisheries Resource Research Institute and NARO was aimed at disseminating findings on the reduction of Nile Perch fish in Uganda’s Water bodies.
 
Apart from catching of immature fish, the institute is also faced with a problem of increased population that has led to the encroachment on the water catchments areas by the population for settlement.
 
“The water catchment areas perform the function of cleaning up and water from the banks before it finds its way into the lake but this has reduced on most of the waters .It means that all types of rubbish find its way into the waters some of which are poisonous to the aquatic life,” explained Wanda Masifwa, a researcher with NaFIRRI.