Fish earnings threatened as allegations of poison linger
Dead fish captured in a cage on Lake Victoria. PHOTO BY MARTIN SSEBUYIRA
What you need to know:
Major market. The EU accounts for 75 per cent of the fish exports from Uganda sold through Amsterdam and Brussels to other European destinations.
There is growing panic within the fishing sector in Uganda, with some fishermen increasingly getting worried over allegations of poisoning.
The fish poisoning allegations have been on since February last year, but they appear to have reached peak levels early last week when unknown fishermen used poison to kill hundreds of fish species at random, near Tamper Landing Site in Entebbe.
“I had woken up at around 7am to go fishing and found many young fish killed and floating near Tamper fish factory landing site, the defunct Ssese Gateway beach landing site and Guda landing site in Entebbe,” Mr William Odhiambo, a fisherman at Tamper fish factory landing site, said.
He said he then saw young fish floating dead in cages of private people who carryout cage fish farming in the lake and much more fish species rotting on the lake shores, confirming the fish could have died of poison.
The Acting Fisheries Commissioner, Mr Jackson Wadanya, said the fish had been killed by algae blooms that regularly invade the lake. “I have called the person on ground and confirmed there is dead fish caused by algae blooms that invaded the lake,” Mr Wadanya said in an interview.
Mr Yasiin Musisi, another fisherman at Tamper fish factory landing site, said they first found fish killed in large numbers in February last year, without Algae blooms and reported to all the relevant offices who kept a deaf ear until the fish started perishing.
“Algae blooms cannot kill fish because it will always run to deeper waters when it sees algae that always surfaces on the lake. This is poison that government shouldn’t take simply,” he said.
Mr Edward Sserugunda, a beach management unit chairman at Kigungu Landing Site, said he recently arrested a fisherman at Kavenyanja Island with poison he had used to kill fish and forwarded him to police but released on bond shortly.
“Fish poisoning has been on and reported to the fisheries department, internal security office, police but have not helped us,” he said.
He said a poisoned fish normally has white gills, swollen eyes, rots quickly and easily breaks into smaller pieces. “We are fighting illegal fishing but people now use poison and quickly sell off the fish to unsuspecting people but pose a serious threat in future,” he added.
The State Minister for Fisheries, Ms Ruth Nankabirwa, declined to comment on the matter, saying it will hurt fish exports. “I beg you to shelve that story because true or not, it will have far-reaching impacts on our market abroad,” she said when contacted on phone.
There have been allegations that government is struggling to cover up fish poisoning cases for fear of losing the European Union market.
