High Fish prices in different markets in Kigali have driven away customers.

The prices, which traders attribute to rise in fish scarcity and high transport fare, has doubled compared to this time, last year.

A kilo of fish in most Kigali markets last week was sold at Rwf2,500, while in Nyabugogo market it went for Rwf2,800.

All the fish vendors who spoke to The New Times during a mini survey carried out last week, said they sold fish last year at Rwf2,000 per kilogramme.

Read the full article HERE

Illegal fishing methods and insufficient monitoring and enforcements of existing regulations have played their part in the decline of fish stocks for local consumption and export in not only Lake Victoria, but also lakes Albert and George.

Statistics from the Department of Fisheries Resources (DFR) in the fisheries ministry show that after increasing from 1,664 tonnes valued at $1.4m in 1990, to 36,615 tonnes valued at $143.6m in 2005, fish exports to overseas markets dropped to 16,480 tonnes, worth $89.1m by 2011.

This followed a two-fold growth in quantity from 15,876 tonnes, resulting into $34.4m in 2000, to 30,057 tonnes ($102.9m) in 2004, but dropped to 23,430 tonnes ($115.3m) in 2008 and 17,105 tonnes ($91.1m) by 2011.

Read the full article HERE

Kalambo — The government of Tanzania has launched a programme to improve the fish market in Kasanga – south of Lake Tanganyika. The Tsh800m ($495,835) fish market that was built two years ago on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, lacks electricity and fish storage facilities which affects the fishing sector.

In 2011, government earned $176,797.8m (Sh230.01 bn) in revenue and Sh230.01 billion, ($176,797.8 m) from fish and fisheries products.

“We want to change this move to ensure that this fish market benefits the local fishermen and the government. We are going to put in place electricity and storage facilities for fish,” Kalambo district commissioner, Moshi Mussa Chang’a told East African Business Week. Chang’a noted that Tanzania fishermen sell over 100 tons of fresh fish per day to Zambian traders .

In December last year, twenty-eight Zambian fishermen were arrested by Tanzanian police for allegedly fishing on Tanzania waters, according to Zambia’s police spokesperson Ms Elizabeth Kanjela.

She said that a team of Zambian defence and security officers travelled to Tanzania to negotiate their release from Matai Police Station.

The country’s aquaculture production has increased by over 500 per cent in the last four years, latest statistics by the ministry of Fisheries Development show. Production stood at 4,220 metric tonnes in 2008 before shooting to 22,000 tonnes. This represents a nine percent jump of the national fish production.

The fisheries secretary, Prof Charles Ngugi, said the area under production has also risen from 722 to 15,000ha.

Read the full article HERE

Entebbe — Uganda’s state minister for fisheries Ruth Nankabirwa has urged district chief administrative officers to form Beach Management Units that will ensure that the depleting fish resources are protected from bad fishing and extinction.

The minister argues that although she has tried to fight illegal fishing on major lakes in Uganda, her efforts are being derailed in districts that lack Beach Management Units (BMUs).

“The office of the CAO in conjunction with the district fisheries officers are supposed to come up with BMUs at all landing sites.

Read the full article HERE