A technical team from the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries alongside other government officials are set to travel to South Sudan to engage the leadership there about the dumping of immature fish onto the Ugandan markets.

This was revealed by the fisheries minister Hellen Adoa on Tuesday, February 13, while addressing the media at the Uganda Media Centre, about an increase in the use of illegal fishing gear on Uganda’s fishing lakes.

Adoa said there is an increase in immature fish on the Ugandan market, coming from South Sudan, through the Elegu one-stop border post.

“This is a vice that must be addressed. The Ministry will work together with the Government of South Sudan to harmonise this trade so that it does not destroy the fish stocks in the region,” Adoa said.

The danger with immature fish from South Sudan flooding the Ugandan market is that it will affect the price of mature fish, hence distorting the market for the Ugandan business community.

Currently, Uganda earns close to $158m from fish exports. The fisheries sector alone employs close to 60% of the country’s population.

Some of the fish species like Mukene (Silver cyprinid) are the cheapest source of protein for low-income earners, hence the need to protect all the fish species in Uganda’s water bodies, added Adoa.