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Crackdown on unlicensed fishermen enters 3rd week
A file photo of fishermen who were allegedly found with illegal nets
The Fisheries Protective Unit (FPU) under the Uganda People’s Defence Forces has impounded an assortment of fishing gear, vehicles and motorcycles from unlicensed fishermen and dealers across the country.
According to Mr Deo Sentiba, the FPU spokesperson, the crackdown followed a directive by the state minister for Fisheries, Ms Hellen Adoa, in line with implementation of a government policy against those fishers and fish transporters operating without valid licences .
“We started with Kalangala islands, and our operations are going to spread districts on Lake Victoria and other water bodies,” he said in an interview on Sunday.
“Those without valid licences should not risk going to the lake or transporting fish because we are going to arrest them and impound whatever we find them with,” he added.
On June 1, Minister Adoa announced a nationwide crackdown on unlicensed fishermen following expiry of the grace period.
In April, the ministry extended the deadline for licensing of fisheries activities by two months, which elapsed on May 31. The ministry had earlier set March 31 as the deadline for issuing new licences this year.
Mr Sentiba said they are yet to compute the value of the impounded items. He said an estimated 1.5million people are directly involved in fishing activities, but a good number of them, especially in Busoga Sub-region, are still reluctant to acquire licenses.
To get licensed , a fisherman is required to provide a Tax Identification Number (TIN), which is obtained from any nearest Uganda Revenue Authority office (URA) office or 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 by March 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 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.
The ministry had earlier set Shs100,000 as annual license 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 while vessels on Lake Nakivale and other minor lakes are charged Shs50,000.
