Police seize tons of immature fish
Apr 13, 2012
ABOUT two tons of immature fish and 325 illegal fishing gears worth sh100m have been destroyed by the ministry of fisheries and the police on the shores of Lake Victoria.
By Abou Kisige
ABOUT two tons of immature fish and 325 illegal fishing gears worth sh100m have been destroyed by the ministry of fisheries and the police on the shores of Lake Victoria.
The operation was a joint effort between East African states aimed at destroying the mass illegal fishing gears that are slowly draining the lake of fish.
The fisheries principal officer in the ministry of fisheries, Daisy Oryel said this is their first joint operation by the nations of east African to make sure that the lake is protected.
“The fishermen use undersized nets which grab young fish. It is now hard to get a reasonably sized fish from this lake. That is why fish prices are so high; so these operations are aimed at giving some rest to the lake to recover,”
Oryel said that since late February, fisheries experts from East Africa have been laying strategies to ensure that the acts of illegal fishing are stopped after getting reports of fish catch having reduced drastically.
He said consequently a ’ Smart Fish’ programme funded by the Indian Ocean Commission was formed among the three East African partnership states to ensure that overfishing and its associated illegal fishing activities are scaled down.
He said illegal fishing is common on Lake Victoria stressing that if residents acted as watchdogs the vice can be averted.
Oryel noted that catching young fish would destroy many people’s livelihood, since most people on the shores depend on fish. He cautioned all beach management units’ officials on major lakes not to be corrupt.
The Lake Victoria fisheries boss, Dick Nyeko condemned fishmongers saying that despite several sensitization campaigns conducted on them, the illegalities are continuing at an estimated 40% per annum.
Nyeko warned that if not preserved, the lake might soon loose its potentials to contribute to government economies and livelihood.
He said that as east African states benefiting from Lake Victoria, they will continue with the hunt down for wrong fishermen to protect the lake, adding that these illegal gears have depleted the breeding grounds and killed young fish.