Ugandan fishing industry is facing huge problem of depleted fish stocks due to special interests and a lucrative market that continues to place tremendous pressure on fish stock, disregard for economic efficiency and making the possibility of extinction more real. There is no doubt that such thing happens in the face of regulations intended to limit abusive exploitation.
A senior fisheries officer told that the declining fish stock is a result of the failure of fisheries authorities to introduce or limit access to the most exploited lakes, such as Victoria, Kyoga and Albert. This has given opportunists with special interests rather than economic rationale a chance to abusively exploit the fishery resources. It is said that the rising human activity on the lakes’ surroundings and the use of indiscriminate and environmentally-damaging fishing practices is undermining the resources’ potential to renew themselves.
Experts believe that the use of illegal gear to indiscriminately wipe out the commercial species has pushed the Nile Perch’s mortality rate in Lake Victoria to over 86 percent. Recent scientific data revealed that the lakes can be salvaged if management of the fish stocks is taken out of politicians’ hands. It is told that the introduction of fishing quotas would be the best way to protect the lakes from abuse but because Uganda is a Tropical country, its lakes have multiple species that would complicate implementation of the system.
According to the experts restocking lakes and rivers with new species requires massive capital, which is not available. There should also be the development in the system for fisheries. But still the fish is better than the last year.
