Govt mulls opening closed landing sites

The government is considering reopening closed landing sites where district authorities present proof that there is compliance with fishing standards.

In 2017, the government closed some landing sites in various districts around lakes Kyoga, Victoria, Edward and George on account of being ungazetted and harbouring criminals engaging in illegal fishing, which had depleted the lakes.

The landing sites were around the districts of Kyotera, Masaka, Kalungu, Kalangala, Buikwe, Namayingo and Mukono, among others.

According to Ms Hellen Adoa, the State Minister for Fisheries, some districts have applied for re-opening of the closed landing sites.

“It is the responsibility of the district council through the fisheries office to request for gazettement of a landing site, then the ministry sends a team to inspect it  before it is approved,” she said in a telephone interview on Monday.

“So far, districts such as Buyende and Namayingo have contacted us and our team will be dispatched soon to assess whether there is compliance with the required standards,” she added. 

However, the minister said districts such as Kasese and Rukungiri, which share lakes Edward and George, will not be considered, insisting that they have already surpassed the recommended number of boats supposed to operate on both lakes.

“Both George and Edward are restricted lakes and their recommended number of boats is 50, but it has already gone beyond 100, and reopening landing sites will just worsen the situation,” she explained. 

Mr John Muwadi, the fisheries officer for Buyende, said four landing sites were blacklisted by the district fisheries department over illegal fishing activities.

“We are waiting for guidance from the ministry on what to do next,” Mr Muwadi said.

The district has 26 landing sites.

Ever since the landing sites were closed, there has been a lot of public outcry from fishermen who said they were deprived of their sole livelihood while local leaders claim they used to get revenue from the landing sites.

For example in Masaka District alone, of the 18 landing sites, only six are operational. Some of the closed landing sites include; Kafuga, Kisamba, Kyondo, Kisonzi, Mumpu and Mutemante -all  in  Buwunga   Sub-county,  and Kyasa, Mumpu and Kakyukyu landing sites in Kyanamukaaka Sub-county.

Namayingo District Fisheries Officer Fred Igoma said five landing sites were closed and reopening them will help the district earn revenue which they have missed for seven years.

Mr Fredrick Egesa, the Masaka District Fisheries Officer, said the closure of landing sites crippled livelihoods of more than 4,000 families.

“We are on the ground to assess the closed landing sites and at an appropriate time, we will update the ministry how far we have gone,” he said.

SECTOR’S ROLE

Over the last two decades, the fisheries sector has played an important social and economic role in Uganda as the second largest foreign exchange earner, contributing 2.6 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 12 percent to agricultural GDP.