Army closes 4 landing sites over illegal fishing

The Fisheries Protection Unit (FPU) under the Uganda People’s Defence Forces has closed four fish landing sites in Kalangala Islands over alleged illegal fishing.
The landing sites include Lwabaswa, Semawundo, Misonzi, and Kitobo in Bufumira Sub-county.

This comes nearly six months after eight landing sites in the district were closed and fishermen arrested for reportedly engaging in illegal fishing. 
However, the landing sites were reopened a week later after commitment by local leaders to stop any illegal fishing practices, which they have failed to do. 
A section of fishermen accuse the  enforcers of losing  direction on how their operations ought to be conducted as they embarked on halting fishing activities on selected landing sites instead of only arresting the culprits. 

The latest closed landing sites are the busiest in Kalangala District with more than 200 boats each.
Capt Fredrick Mwondah, the FPU commandant in Kalangala, said they first warned the culprits through their local leaders before closing the sites.
 “I gave them [local leaders] three weeks to hand over the individuals engaging in illegal fishing and their gear, but they declined and closing the landing sites was the only remaining option,” Mr Mwondah said during an interview at the weekend.

“We will reopen those landing sites only when they have handed over the individuals involved in illegal fishing to us,” he added.
At Semawundo Landing Site alone, 30 boats were found with outlawed fishing gear while at Misonzi Landing Site at least 22 fishermen have been arrested and taken to Kalangala Central Police Station. 
Capt Mwondah said his team would continue with inspection. 

Other landing sites at risk of closure include Gunga, Mwena, Lutoboka, Mabigo, Mutambala-Kasenyi and Senero in Mugoye Sub-county.
President Museveni in 2017 established FPU to crack down on illegal fishing in the country. 
Soldiers were deployed on the lakes for the cause. 
This came after Nile perch catches had declined by 46 percent from 2011 to 2015 while tilapia were lower by 38 percent, according to Uganda’s National Fisheries Resources Research Institute’s fisheries catch assessment survey.

However, soldiers under FPU have on several occasions been criticised over alleged high-handedness in dealing with people suspected of engaging in illegal fishing.
The Kalangala District chairperson, Mr Rajab Ssemakula, said government should put emphasis on preventing illegal fishing gear from entering the country.  “If they [government] stop importation of illegal nets and other fishing gears, the fishermen will not have access to them,” he said.
Illegal fishing
Illegal fishing, according to FPU,  involves using less than five-inch fishing nets for Tilapia and less than seven-inch fishing nets for Nile Perch that results in the harvesting of immature fish that measure less than 11 inch and 20 inch in length. 
It also entails using fishing boats that are less than 20 feet in length and with absence of life jackets.
In various districts around Lake Victoria such as Kyotera, Masaka, Kalungu, Kalangala, Buikwe, and Mukono, some landing sites have remained closed since 2017 over operating illegally. 
In Kalangala District, Kafuna Landing Site has remained closed for four years.