Mityana leaders bow to pressure, lift fishing ban
Fishermen at Butebi Landing Site in Mityana District. The fishermen say they were not consulted before instituting the ban. PHOTO / FILE
What you need to know:
- Last month, the district leadership had announced that it would enforce a six-month fishing holiday effective this year to allow the fish stock in the lake to replenish.
Mityana District leaders have bowed to pressure from fishermen and called off the planned fishing ban on Lake Wamala.
Last month, the district leadership had announced that it would enforce a six-month fishing holiday effective this year to allow the fish stock in the lake to replenish.
However, the fishermen protested the move, saying the district had no clear plan on how they would survive without fishing during the six-month period.
Mr Yasiin Bbira, the district natural resources officer, said on top of facing resistance from fishermen, their plan was not endorsed by the line ministry.
“The fishing ban on Lake Wamala will not be enforced now as earlier planned. We have faced some resistance from the fishermen, but also, we need to first get authorisation from the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries,” he said during an interview on Wednesday.
Mr Elaijah Ssenyonjo, the district fisheries officer, said they deferred the enforcement of the ban on request of the fishermen.
“It is the fishermen who asked for a three-month grace period to prepare themselves, which we accepted. The three-month period started on June 1 and will end on August,” he said.
“The reason behind the fishing ban is to allow fish to replenish but if the fishermen adopt better fishing methods and avoid the use of illegal fishing gear, we may give it a second thought and abandon our plan to close the lake,” he added.
Mr Ernest Kanyansali, a fisherman at Katiko Landing Site, said instead of closing the lake, the district authorities should empower the local committees, which were formed at landing sites, to fight the illegal fishing on the lake.
“Ten years ago, local committees were put in place to fight illegal fishing at every landing site. The committees used to punish culprits and some were banned from fishing, but all these committees got weakened when government brought in the army,” he said.
Mr Honest Bbaale, the chairperson of Katiko Landing Site, said the district leadership had announced their plan to seal off the lake before consulting them.
“It was a miscalculation to enforce the fishing ban without providing food or an alternative source of income to fishermen. Let them [district leadership] first convince government to provide free maize flour and beans to fishermen for six months,” he said.
Recently, Mr Tom Bukenya, the commissioner for regulation control quality assurance at the ministry of Agriculture, advised leaders in the three districts of Mityana, Kassanda and Gomba, which share Lake Wamala waters, to seek guidance from the government before enforcing the fishing ban
“A fishing holiday is good, but cannot be implemented without authorisation from the ministry. Let them write to us officially, we will look into it and give advice on how best to enforce it,” Mr Bukenya said during an interview.
about lake wamala
According to a report by the Fish Stock Assessment Team, which was commissioned by National Fisheries Resources Research Institute (NaFIRRI) in 2012, Lake Wamala has 26 gazetted landing sites and about 600 fishermen with a similar number of boats. A total of 16 landing sites are in Mityana, while Gomba and Kassanda have five landing sites each. However, the report states that the lake has poor socio-economic infrastructure compared to other lakes, probably due to its geo-morphological setting.
