Unlicensed fishermen face eviction from lakes

Following the expiry of the deadline for registration of fishermen across the country, the government is set to deny all non-compliant fishers access to the water bodies.
Registration of fishers and boats is done every two years and the last exercise was conducted last year while licensing is done annually.
The registration and licensing of fishers is partly intended to regulate fishing and avert depletion of fish stocks as a result of illegal fishing methods.
Mr Jimmy Atyang, the assistant commissioner for fisheries control, regulation and quality assurance, said renewal and issuance of new licences kicked off in January and ends on March 31.

“ Those [fisheries] who will be caught fishing without valid licences after March 31 will be considered as illegal fishers  and when we  conduct a fisheries compliance enforcement exercise, all those who  have deliberately failed to acquire licenses will be denied access to the water bodies,” he said during an interview on Monday.
Mr Atyang said fishers who registered their boats last year but failed to acquire licences, will this year be forced to pay arrears.
According to the ministry, boat owners must have the recommended size of boats and fishing gear, Tax Identification Numbers and National Identity cards. Boat owners who are not fishermen need to first secure fishing licenses for their fishermen in order to be registered.
“If a fisherman registered last year and did not get a license, we assume that he has been fishing. So, such a person has to pay arrears before getting a licence for 2023,” he said.

Mr Sam Sebuliba, a fisherman at Kitobo Landing Site in Kalangala District, said they support the government efforts to license boats although they are given little time to look for the money.
“This whole process [of registering and  licensing boats] requires money but whenever it is conducted, we are given little time to pay the money and those who fail, end up being locked out,” he said, adding, “We request the ministry to leave it open so that we can acquire licences  any time one gets the money.”
Mr Emmanual Mange, the chairperson of Njeru –Nile Landing Site in Buikwe District, said his members paid for licences two years ago but the ministry has  yet  to issue them out.

“Two years ago, we paid for licences but we did not get them; we are about 300 fishermen here. Now, we don’t know how we are going to be handled,” he said.
Available statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries indicate that 14,600 boats have so far been registered on Lake Victoria, of which 9,306 are licensed accounting for 64 percent of the registered boats.
On Lake Kyoga, 5,515 boats are licensed out of the 6,550 registered, while on Lake Albert, only 1625 boats are licensed out 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.

Mr Atyang said registration, licensing and re-issuance of permanent boat identification number plates has simplified their work of developing a national database for all boat owners in the country.
The first attempt by the government to register fishermen and boat owners was in 2011, but the programme stalled after the government failed to secure funds.
The ministry had earlier set Shs100,000 as annual licence fee for small boats and Shs200,000 for large scale fishing boats.
However, effective 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 as licence fee 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 used or 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.
Last year , Parliament passed the Fisheries and Aquaculture Bill, 2021, that, among others, prescribes a Shs40m fine or jail sentence of two years for those found selling fish without a valid fish trade license.
The same Bill, which awaits presidential assent, also made it illegal for anyone who transports fish and its products without a valid fish movement permit. Such an offender will be slapped with either a Shs40m fine or two-year jail sentence.

Uganda churns out at least 447,000 metric tonnes of fish, with Nile Perch contributing about 86,463 metric tonnes of  total fish catch, and earns $153m (about Shs548b) annually in exports, while tilapia catch contributes 49,768 metric tonnes.
But Bank of Uganda statistics released in September 2020 showed Uganda’s exports had declined by more than 5,000 tonnes.
This resulted in a Shs124b fish export revenue shortfall. This was blamed on overfishing, which has led to depleted fish stocks.

What they say
Jimmy Atyang, assistant commissioner for fisheries control:  “Those [fisheries] who will be caught fishing without valid licences after March 31 will be considered as illegal fishers  and when we  conduct a fisheries compliance enforcement exercise, all those who  have deliberately failed to acquire licenses will be denied access to the water bodies.”

Sam Sebuliba, fisherman at Kitobo Landing Site in Kalangala: “This whole process [of registering and  licensing boats] requires money but whenever it is conducted, we are given little time to pay the money.” 

Additional reporting by Denis Edema