How rogue fishermen beat security on Lake Victoria
A Fisheries Protection Unit soldier guards confiscated illegal fishing gear and fishermen suspected of engaging in the vice in Namugongo Landing site in Mayuge District in 2019. PHOTO/DENIS EDEMA
What you need to know:
While the FPU’s work has been praised by some stakeholders in the fisheries sector, many politicians and fishermen have criticised the unit for its heavy-handed tactics.
Fishermen use informants stationed at different landing sites to alert them when soldiers are near, allowing them to relocate before operations begin.
In January 2017, President Museveni deployed soldiers under the Fisheries Protection Unit (FPU) to combat illegal fishing on Uganda’s water bodies.
At that time, the number of fish processing factories had dropped from 21 to just eight, with the remaining ones struggling due to the depletion of fish stocks caused by illegal fishing on Lake Victoria, the country’s largest freshwater body.
A 2020 report from the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry, and Fisheries indicated that fish stocks in Lake Victoria had increased by 40 percent within the first three years of FPU operations.
However, a 2022 report by the National Fisheries Research Institute showed a drastic decline, with Nile Perch stocks decreasing by 62 percent on the Ugandan side, 52 percent on the Tanzanian side, and 42 percent in Kenya.
The decline was attributed to a combination of factors, including the mass death of Nile Perch due to rising water temperatures, the use of illegal fishing gear, and overfishing.
Despite the presence of FPU soldiers, unscrupulous fishermen continue to devise ways to evade law enforcement.
Mr Sirajje Mawanda, a fisherman at Kisaba Landing Site in Kyamuswa Sub-county, Kalangala District, said this practice began long before the FPU's deployment, when the Ministry of Agriculture's Fisheries Department was still in charge.
"Fishermen used to hide illegal fishing gear in their homes or in forests near the lake shores," Mr Mawanda told Daily Monitor in an interview on Tuesday.
When the FPU arrived, they began searching homes and stores, prompting fishermen to become more creative in hiding their activities.
"They started storing nets in sacks and hiding them in forests along the shores, or even in the water with their canoes and only remove them when it was time to fish," Mr Mawanda explained.
At Nakibanga Landing Site, Mr Richard Lwanga revealed that in the past, illegal fish dealers transported immature fish in sacks and boxes. However, when the FPU began impounding them, they started concealing the fish in charcoal sacks.
"When the soldiers caught on, the fishermen began hiding the fish in boat containers, soaking it in ice, or disguising it in sacks of silverfish," Mr Lwanga added.
Today, unscrupulous fishermen use informants stationed at different landing sites to alert them when soldiers are near, allowing them to relocate before operations begin.
Mr Lwanga also noted that fishermen often use recommended boats but deploy illegal monofilament fishing nets and hooks, making it harder for FPU informants to detect their activities.
Illegal fishers have long used Kalangala District’s forest reserves such as Lutoboka Central Reserve Forest and unregistered landing sites like Bossa in Bufumira Sub-county and Kachanga on Funve Island in Mazinga Sub-county as hideouts. Some of these sites had been closed by the FPU but resumed illegal fishing after reopening.
According to Lt Lauben Ndifuna, the FPU spokesperson, the army is continuously devising new strategies to combat illegal fishing.
"As illegal fishermen devise new ways to beat security, we are also developing new operational tactics to disrupt their activities. For example, we used to inspect boats only when they left landing sites, but now we inspect them multiple times during their journey and upon arrival at their destinations," he explained.
Lt Ndifuna added that they have learnt fishermen sometimes load immature fish onto passenger boats during their journeys.
"We are collaborating with fishermen who know every corner of the lake to ensure no areas are left unchecked," he said.
Last month, while addressing fishermen at Bubeke Landing Site, the FPU Commander, Col Mercy Tukahiirwa, said the army is well-equipped with enough fuel to conduct operations anytime and anywhere on Uganda's water bodies.
However, local leaders argue that more support is needed to help fishermen afford legal fishing gear.
"Fishermen use illegal gear because it’s cheaper. We urge the government to assist them in forming Savings and Credit Cooperative Organisations (SACCOs) to provide loans for purchasing the recommended gear and boats," Sunde Gerald Kayita, the LC3 chairperson of Mazinga Sub-county, said.
Criticism
While the FPU’s work has been praised by some stakeholders in the fisheries sector, many politicians and fishermen have criticised the unit for its heavy-handed tactics. Over the past two decades, Uganda’s fisheries sector has played a crucial role in the economy, contributing 2.6 percent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 12 percent to agricultural GDP. Uganda’s fish capture potential stands at 750,000 tonnes annually, with current production at 461,000 tonnes, plus an additional 100,000 tonnes from aquaculture
