Experts worried about fish stockout in Masaka

Masaka leaders have raised concern over the alarming decline of indigenous fish species in Lake Victoria. Tilapia and Nile perch are the favoured catches due to their high demand. 

Speaking at a dialogue organized by the Environment for Development Initiative (EfD-Mak) centre under Makerere University, Betty Tinka, the Masaka Deputy Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), noted that fishermen are idle because there is no fish in the lake.

"We are getting a lot of complaints from the fishermen from all the nine landing sites that there is no fish in the lake. In Kakyanga landing site, they used to receive 40 tonnes in a week, but currently, they get 6-9. Fish has reduced and many are now unemployed," Tinka noted.

Tinka said the stockout is caused by pollution on the lake which has made the water smell and, in the end, has pushed the fish to deeper ends.

Speaking at the Function, Moses Ssemambo, the Masaka Fisheries Officer, noted that insufficient monitoring and weak enforcement of regulations on illegal and over-fishing activities have reduced fish stocks, which has threatened livelihood and food security.

"People are supposed to stay away from the lake shores 200meters but what is happening in Masaka, people are so close to the lake, and since they are few toilets, most of them place their faeces in the bush and when it rains, everything goes back in the lake, which affects the quality of water. The uncontrolled flow of toxic substances from industrial and agricultural sources has chased away the fish," Ssemambo said.

Ssemambo emphasized the need for enforcement agencies to ensure fishermen adhere to the recommended gear limits to prevent the harvesting of immature fish and destruction of the lake's ecosystem.

The Masaka district chairman Jude Mbabali described the current situation of destroying the environment as something that is being exacerbated by some people who claim that they are powerful and protected by Statehouse.

"Ever since I came in power I have been fighting Pastor Samuel Kakande, he had acquired 30 land titles in the swamp, I fought him till the matters reached Statehouse and he lost the titles, now recently during COVID lockdown, he surfaced again, he cleared a forest and plans to plant palm trees, I have engaged the authority but they are saying he has a permit from NEMA, he is not the only one we have so many encroachers and Police, RDC all fear them," said Mbabali.

Because of such issues, Makerere University has embarked on rigorous sensitization of masses especially fishing communities, on the need to conserve water bodies and avert the depletion of fish stocks in the various lakes.

"We do not need new laws to protect the environment, the current policymakers at the district level must undertake training in handling environmental issues because most of them lack the knowledge about the benefits of the environment. We need to teach them that the environment can co-exist with human activities. They need to know that that illegal fishing depletes the fish stocks and affects the country's foreign income earning," said Prof Edward Bbale, the director of Environment for Development Initiative (EfD) centre at Makerere University.

Prof Bbale also noted that to save Lake Victoria, they should be a regional consensus on a well-coordinated policy of regulating the lake's inflow and outflow. He said we need to also control the population near the lake.

"Lake Victoria cuts across all East African countries, you might find that Uganda is doing its part of conserving the forests, observing the 200meters away from the lake shores, but as long as other countries are not doing their part, we shall continue polluting the lake. Noted Prof Bbale.

The Environmental activists warned of more devastating effects of environmental degradation that is caused by Chinese investors who set up rice fields in Lwera swamp on the Kampala-Masaka highway.

Lwera swamp stretches about 20kms on the Kampala-Masaka highway and is a major water catchment area that connects several rivers and wetlands in Gomba, Mpigi and Kalungu districts and drains directly into Lake Victoria.

Lake Victoria is the world's second-largest freshwater lake by surface area, after Lake Superior in North America.