Army orders fishermen to move with licences
A file photo of fishermen who were allegedly found with illegal nets
What you need to know:
The Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries on June 1 announced a crackdown on unlicensed fishermen following expiry of a two-month grace period
The Fisheries Protection Unit (FPU) has advised fishermen and coxswains to carry their licences in order to avoid being arrested.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries on June 1 announced a crackdown on unlicensed fishermen following expiry of a two-month grace period.
According to the FPU commander in Kalangala District, Capt Serian Eric Muhangi, Section 34 of the Fisheries and Aquaculture Act, 2022 requires any person engaging in fisheries or aquaculture activities to possess a permit.
“Someone without a valid licence is not allowed to continue fishing and the fish caught without a licence has to be impounded. So we urge fishermen to move with their licences as the law stipulates,” he said in an interview on Tuesday.
Capt Muhangi said a total of 98 boats have so far been impounded and 70 fishermen arrested in Kalangala alone.
“During this operation, we also follow up on those with arrears and if they fail to pay, we take them to court,” he added. According to the District Fisheries Officer, Mr Jackson Baguma, available records show that 80 percent of the 2,700 boats operating on Kalangala Island have been licensed compared to 70 percent last year.
Mr Baguma advised all fishermen who paid for the licences but have not received them to move with photocopies of their receipts.
Mr Godfrey Ssenyonga Kambugu, the chairperson of the Association of Fisheries and Lake Users of Uganda (AFALU), attributed the delay to acquire licences to financial constraints.
“Because of the licence issue, many of us have reduced the number of boats we put on the lake. When we get money we will bring them back,” he said.
To get licensed, a fisherman is required to provide a Tax Identification Numbers (TIN) from Uganda Revenue Authority, or present national Identification cards for nationals and passports for non-Ugandans.
Available statistics at the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries indicate that 14,600 boats had been registered on Lake Victoria by March, of which 9,306 are licensed.
On Lake Kyoga, 5,515 boats are licensed of the 6,550 registered, while on Lake Albert, only 1,625 boats are licensed of the 5,075 registered.
Only 552 boats (47.9 percent) of the 1,153 registered on minor lakes such as Edward and George have been licensed.
Price for licences
Last year, the ministry announced new fees and any vessel operating on lakes such as Victoria, Albert, Kyoga, Edward, George and Wamala is supposed to pay Shs100,000 while vessels on Lake Nakivale and other minor lakes are charged Shs50,000.
Those operating on swamps, rivers and dams pay Shs25,000. A section of fish dealers have since last year complained that they were being charged exorbitantly.
A vessel owned by a non-citizens pays Shs2m for a licence. A fish truck with less than five tonnes is required to pay a licence of Shs250,000 while a truck of five to 10 tonnes pays Shs750,000. Each fish processing factory pays Shs3m.
Background
In January 2017, President Museveni formed FPU to crackdown on illegal fishing on Ugandan water bodies which was blamed for the dwindling fish stocks in the country. This has in the last six years seen fish stock, especially Nile Perch, significantly increase in size.
Over the last two decades, the fisheries sector has played an important social and economic role in Uganda as one of the largest foreign exchange earner, contributing 2.6 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 12 percent to agricultural GDP.
