THE Minister for Agriculture Livestock and Fisheries, Mr Mwigulu Nchemba, has attributed the increase in cases of illegal fishing and drugs trafficking to insufficient speed boats for marine patrols and criminals, including pirates.
Mr Nchemba said here in a meeting on
‘maritime insecurity and illegal fishing’ with his Isles counterpart
that the use of unacceptable fishing methods and foreign ships fishing
in the deepsea without permission were still big problems. “We must act
now to control illegal fishing including, theft of our fish by foreign
vessels.
Our waters must also be free from
piracy,” Mr Nchemba said at the meeting in which marine vessel
manufacturers from Italy marketed speedboats, which they said they could
supply to Tanzania.
Mr Francesco Gargiulo from the MES
Company of Italy said they would provide Tanzania with modern speedboats
capable of conducting security operations in the deep sea.
Mr Nchemba said that the deep sea
remained a target for criminals from outside Tanzania while local
security officers were unable to make frequent visits due to lack of
patrol boats.
“We need the vessels to stop theft of
our sea natural resources and piracy,” the minister pointed out. At the
meeting held at the Deep Sea Fishing Authority at Fumba in the West
District, the minister said acquiring enough speed patrol boats would
help control the illegal fishing and other criminal acts around the sea.
He said his office and their
counterparts in the Isles would consider purchasing the modern speed
patrol boats in their next budgets, further vowing that the two
governments would ensure that its sea territory is safe and free from
illegal fishing.
Mr Nchemba reiterated that the two
governments are committed to ensuring that the available resources both
on land and in the sea benefit all Tanzanians. The Zanzibar Deputy
Minister for Fishing and Livestock, Mr Mohamed Said Mohamed, emphasized
on collective responsibility to fight illegal fishing that includes use
of explosives in fishing missions.
Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Ernest
Magu observed that the country’s lengthy coastal boundary made it
difficult to control both onshore and offshore crime, also noting that
modern speed patrol boats would greatly help to improve surveillance.
“Lack of modern equipment hampers patrol
that should cover the whole coastal area and the deep sea. Criminals
have been taking advantage. The government should work hard to equip the
police and other security officers to improve patrol,” Mr Magu said
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