There have been some complaints mainly in the communities living close to lake shores about the harsh treatment they are subjected to by law enforcement personnel when they go fishing on the lakes.
Indeed thousands of them have had to abandon their jobs along the lakes shores on grounds of the reported strict regulations governing fishing these days.
The rules now require that the fishermen are registered, and that they use the right fish nets, among other requirements, to ensure proper sustenance of the lakes and that all forms of aquaculture flourish.
Hundreds of people have been driven out of fishing on the lakes and have become unemployed due to noncompliance with the strict fishing regulations in force.
Some politicians, especially those aspiring to take up leadership positions after the upcoming general elections, have taken advantage of the strict regulations to pledge that when they take over leadership, they will ensure they remove the police and the Uganda People’s Defense Forces (UPDF) personnel from guarding the lakes so that all those people who used to earn their living by fishing can go back to the lakes and fish freely.
On the surface, it sounds like a good idea and a vote winning pledge.
However, a politician who wants to restore unregulated fishing on the lakes in order to create jobs would be grossly mistaken.
Quite a big percentage of our high quality animal protein food is from fish, and if too much pressure is exerted on our water bodies to obtain enough fish for the fast growing population, we will soon run out of fish.
At the time of Independence, in 1962, Uganda’s population was only about six million. The 2024 census recorded a population of 45.9 million.
Wrong gear
If we don’t regulate ‘fish hunting’ on the lakes, given the increased population, the fish will be wiped out within just a few years and still thousands of fishermen will become unemployed. We will also have lost a major source of animal protein, not to mention a big source of foreign exchange.
Due to greed, many fishermen use the wrong fish nets to trap even immature fish. Some have been known to use poison to catch fish. There are cases of armed robbery on the lake. Such bad practices require law enforcement officers, marine police, and, where need be, the support of the UPDF to stop them.
Even under the ongoing strict fishing regulation on the lakes, fish export earnings are already declining.
A quick Google search indicates that Uganda’s fish export earnings declined significantly in 2024, dropping to approximately $107.5m (Shs388b) from $139.8m (Shs505b) in 2023. The drop could be attributed to too much pressure put on the lakes to procure enough fish for the increased population. Much of the fish obtained from our natural fish sources is consumed locally and thousands of Ugandans earn their living as fish traders.
However, the main method currently used to get the fish could best be described as prehistoric and very outdated. It is the Stone Age hunting and gathering method that mankind practiced thousands of years ago.
Expert talks
Paul Ssekyewa, a prominent fish farmer and seed breeder in Masaka City, suggests three mitigation measures.
He says: ‘To keep law and order on the lakes requires the cooperation of the fishermen, policy makers, and law enforcement bodies such as the marine police,’ he says.
‘The fishermen must be sensitised about the importance of sustaining good fishing practices and observing the law. Secondly there should be periodic restocking of our lakes and other water bodies.’
Ssekyewa says many of their fish stocks are dwindling, without a clear regulation arrangement to restock them and that there should be an arrangement to give each one a break of like six months without fishing periodically to allow the fish to regenerate.
‘And in many countries across the world, millions of fish seeds, native to the various water bodies, are released by governments into the ecosystems to sustain the fish populations,’ he says. ‘Thirdly, we must stop the pressure on our lakes by fish farming. We can create thousands and thousands of jobs by training our youth in fish farming skills since we have a lot of water bodies in the form of rivers and swamps nearly everywhere in the country.’
Ssekyewa goes on to say Uganda is very well endowed with fresh water bodies which can facilitate massive fish production and job creation.
Geographically, Uganda, which is located in Africa’s Great Lakes region, is endowed with 69 lakes and has the greatest amount of fresh water in Africa. Nearly one-fifth of its total area is covered by open water or swampland.
He believes those who lost their jobs due to government efforts to curb overfishing on the lakes can turn to fish farming since it is a gainful occupation.
He has been training several university fisheries students sent to his farm for internship and in his view, such young people need not worry about failing to get salaried employment since they have the skills to set up fish ponds and cages.
Encourage training
‘Many of them come from homes located along swamps and all they need is to be encouraged and facilitated to become fish farmers. Their training must have an entrepreneurial focus as a vital component of their course units. It should include value addition – making fish sausages, smoking, filleting, and making ready to eat fish products like fish balls, fish fingers, and fish crumbs and others.’
Fish customers are nearly everywhere and that fish farmers can form cooperatives and put up strong fish retail businesses in every town. There would be plenty of jobs for people transporting fish on motorcycles and other vehicles to far off markets.
Fish farming has not got the attention it deserves in this well-endowed country.
Ssekyewa says our water resources are our greatest treasure. We have the best temperature for farming such fish as catfish and tilapia. They are not expensive to feed since they find a lot of natural food in the water in the form of worms, algae, insects, and plants.
Ssekyewa says the government should pay as much attention to fish farming as it does to other foreign exchange earning sectors such as coffee farming.
‘Fish farming is not just about poverty reduction, it is also about good nutrition and food security,’ he says.
Apart from providing seed to the farmers, it should also avail to them subsidized quality feeds, especially to commercial fish farmers.
‘All other people interested in fish farming but cannot afford manufactured feeds can turn to locally available feed materials like crop residues and decomposed fruits and livestock droppings.’
Ever wondered who feeds the millions of fish in the lakes?
When sunshine or moonlight is reflected on the water, the insects in the air get attracted to the shining water surface where they get caught and eaten by the fish. Some fish are cannibals and eat their fellow fish while lots of others feed on grass, worms, and other organisms naturally found in the water bodies.
Ordinary people with no formal training in fish farming can start by visiting successful farmers to copy and to seek guidance about fish farming, especially where to get the seeds from. The area agricultural services extension officer can also be helpful especially when it comes to pond construction.