Prime
Minister concerned over illegal fish maw trade
Agriculture Minister Vincent Ssempijja
What you need to know:
- Government’s failure to finance and invest in the lucrative business is hurting the Nile Perch fish stocks, according to the minister.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industries and Fisheries (MAAIF) has revealed that illegal trade in fish maw among unscrupulous Indians, Chinese and Ugandans almost led to collapse of the fisheries industry in the country.
Fish maw is the swim bladder of large fish and in Uganda, it is extracted mainly from the Nile Perch.
According to the statement presented to Parliament this week by Agriculture Minister Vincent Ssempijja, in Hong Kong a kilogramme of fish maw costs between $450 (about Shs1.6m) and $1,000 (about Shs3.5m), and Uganda fish maw is ranked the 4th best in the world.
He said the unsustainable supply of fish maw in the world market is driving demand for Nile Perch maw so high, leading to overfishing and capture of immature fish on Ugandan lakes. The overfishing has led to severe decline in the Nile Perch stock in the local water bodies, according to the MAAIF report.
“At the peak of capturing Nile Perch in 2006, Uganda had 21 fish processing and exporting establishments but reduced to six functional factories with very low capacity,” the minister’s statement dated January 2020 without a specific date, reads in part.
Mr Ssempijja said the illegal trade in fish maw has led to wanton cutting of fish to remove the maw, abandoning the fish carcass on the water to rot away.
“With recent government intervention of deploying the fisheries protection force, the Nile Perch stocks in Lake Victoria have recovered and the number of functional factories has risen to 12,” the minister added.
Uganda’s fish maw export earnings rose up from 41.14 metric tonnes in 2011 to 531.6 metric tonnes in 2018, fetching about Shs197.5b.
Mr Sempijja said the unscrupulous foreign fish maw exporters, who are mainly Chinese and Indians, give local operators cash to harvest fish maw. He said most maw traders are unregistered, making it hard to monitor or regulate them.
Government’s failure to finance and invest in the lucrative business is hurting the Nile Perch fish stocks, according to the minister.
He further stated that fish maw extraction is done in hidden and ungazetted places with poor hygiene. Mr Ssempijja said this compromises the quality of the maw and taints the image of Uganda’s fish maw exports.
The minister recommended streamlining fish maw processing and trade with strict controls for quality assurance. He also called for the passing of the Fisheries and Aquaculture Bill to enhance regulation and ensure sustainability of fish maw trade; fast tracking the Nile Perch domestication, farming and breeding in Uganda and increased investment in the fish value chain infrastructure.
