According to the government figures Uganda’s fish export earnings for 2008 dropped by $5.2m (sh10,244b) to $112.2m (sh221,034b) from $117.4m (sh231,278b) the previous year. Jackson Wadanya, the assistant fisheries commissioner, informed that such a drop in fish exports and earnings was induced by illegal fishing practices that almost wiped out the Nile perch specie.
It is found that in 2007 a total of 22,731 metric tonnes of fish were exported to the European and non European countries, fetching $112,218,842.81m while $117,364,068.55 was earned in 2007 from 28,398 tonnes. In 2005, fish exports made history when they topped $150m from $2m in the early 1990s. The Nile perch is Uganda’s much sought after species both locally and on the international market. It accounts for 95 percent of the exports.
Wadanya opined that illegal fishing practices were fuelled by a burgeoning demand for Nile perch in Europe and Asia. He added that DFR have contained illegal fishing practices by recalling licensing of boats from districts and setting standards for boats that can be allowed on the five commercial lakes. He also noticed that the Nile perch’s population in Lake Victoria had drastically declined to less than 50 percent from a standing stock of 650,000 in 2000.
