Fishermen protest closure of 8 Kalangala landing sites

A section of fishermen in the island district of Kalangala have protested the continuous closure of landing sites by the Fisheries Protection Unit (FPU) .

They say the enforcers of fishing standards have lost direction on how their operations ought to be conducted as they embarked on halting fishing activities on selected landing sites instead of arresting the culprits.

At least eight landing sites including Banga, Senero, Lujaabwa, Misonzi, Buyiri,Kaazi-Malanga, Njoga, and Kagolomolo in Mugoye Sub-county have been closed in a space of one week. 

In various districts around Lake Victoria such as Kyotera, Masaka, Kalungu, Kalangala, Buikwe, and Mukono, some landing sites have remained closed since 2017. They were closed on account of operating illegally.  

In Kalangala District, Kafuna Landing Site has remained closed for four years.

 Mr Daniel Kaweesi, a fisherman at Misonzi Landing Site in Bufumira Sub-county, said they were left with no alternative, but to quit the fishing business given the suffering they have endured over the years.

“We really wonder why they [FPU] chose to close the landing sites rather than arrest individuals engaging in illegal fishing,” Mr Kaweesa said.

Ms Brenda Nakawunde from Lujaabwa Landing Site said they were given permits to smoke fish, but when soldiers under FPU go to the area, they confiscate the fish claiming they cannot differentiate illegal fish when smoked.

“We derive our livelihoods from fishing and not all of us engage in illegal fishing.Why are we always blamed for crimes committed by unscrupulous fishers?”  Ms Nakawunde wondered.

Mr Robert Ssebalamu, a fish trader at Banga Landing Site, said: “We abandoned illegal fishing long time ago, let our landing site be reopened and we operate.”

Ms Sam Mpozza, a member of Beach Management Committee at Kagolomolo Landing Site, said they were not involved in FPU operations .   
“To our surprise, the soldiers just descend on landing sites and announce closure, which is unfair,” he said. 

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 into the harvesting of immature fish that measures less than 11 inch and 20 inch in length, respectively.  

It also entails using fishing boats that are less than 20 feet in length and with absence of life jackets.

Kalangala District chairperson Rajab Ssemakula said government should put emphasis on preventing illegal fishing gears from entering into the country. 

“If they [government] can stop importation of illegal nets and other fishing gears, the fishermen will not have access to them,” he said.

Capt Eric Muhangi, the FPU commandant in Kalangala, said the affected landing sites were not completely closed, but they simply halted fishing activities.

“We have only halted fishing activities at such landing sites, other businesses are still operating. Even the fishermen will be allowed to resume work if they voluntarily surrender their illegal fishing gears to us,” Mr Muhangi said, adding: “At Banga and Buyiri where fishermen have handed over the illegal gears, they are free to resume normal operations.”

Background

Persistent illegal fishing on Ugandan lakes forced President Museveni in 2017 to establish FPU. 

By the time, soldiers were deployed on the lakes, Uganda’s fish exports had declined. Nile Perch catches declined by 46 percent from 2011 to 2015 while Tilapia catches were lower by 38 percent during the same period, 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 their high-handedness in dealing with people suspected to be engaging in illegal fishing. 

During FPU operations, many locals are reportedly tortured, some killed and several ungazetted landing sites destroyed on the shores of Lake Victoria, Kyoga and Albert.

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