Illegal fishing returns after soldiers leave lakes - Army

Fishermen have returned to illegal fishing after MPs called for the withdraw of soldiers under Fisheries Protection Unit (FPU), the army has said.

Last week, Parliament passed a motion calling for the immediate withdraw of UPDF soldiers from lakes, claiming that they torture fishermen suspected of engaging in illegal fishing.

“When MPs called for suspension of our operations on the lake, illegal fishermen who had fled the islands started coming back,” Capt Nathan Abaho, the FPU commander in charge of operations on Lake Victoria in Kalangala District, said on Wednesday.

Capt Abaho said at least 10 fishermen from DR Congo have been arrested in the past week for allegedly engaging in illegal fishing.

“We arrested them with sacks of maize flour. They had started setting up a camp inside one of the forests near Ziru Landing Site disguising as charcoal dealers,” he added.
The suspects are currently detained at FPU barracks at Mwena fishing village. “We will arraign them in court after the Christmas holiday. They face charges of using illegal boats, fishing without licences and staying at ungazetted landing site according to the Fish Amendment Act of 2011,” Capt Abaho said.

Meanwhile, fishermen at various landing sites in Kalangala have accused MPs of not consulting them.
During a meeting at Kisaba Landing Site, Bukasa Island, on Tuesday, the fishermen asked President Museveni to keep the soldiers on the lake because they had restored sanity.

“We ask the President to ignore what some selfish MPs say and instead deploy more soldiers on the lake because they are doing a commendable job,” Mr Yusuf Ssentamu, the vice chairperson of Kyamuswa Sub-county, said.

Mr Sepiriyani Kiyini, the chairperson of Kisaba Landing Site, said government should periodically change civilians working alongside soldiers to fight illegal fishing.

“They (civilians) and sometimes extort money from people suspected of engaging in illegal fishing claiming that it is their bosses who have sent them, which is not true,” Mr Kiyini said.

However, Capt Ahaho said if civilians are withdrawn, it will weaken their operations.
“It is the civilians who know all corners and islands on the lake. What should be done is to make changes in their structures and bring new faces on board,” he said.

Mr Muzamiru Kiranda, another fisherman, asked MPs to focus on looking for market for Nile Perch.
“We are being exploited by fish processing and exporting companies where we sell our fish and the MPs are just looking on,” he said.
Currently, fish processing and exporting companies buy a kilogramme of Nile perch at between Shs5,000 and Shs5,500 down from Shs10,000 a year ago.

Background

Illegal fishing on Ugandan lakes reduced fish stock, especially in species such as tilapia, Nile perch and sliver fish, prompting President Museveni to establish FPU in 2017 to crackdown on illegal fishing. Illegal fishing, according to Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries involves using less than five inch fishing nets for Tilapia and less than seven inch fishing nets for Nile Perch that results into the harvesting of immature fish that measures less than 11 inch and 20 inch in length, respectively.

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