Tizeba condemns dynamite fishing as serious threat

DAILY NEWS Reporter

AGRICULTURE, Livestock and Fisheries Development Minister, Dr Charles Tizeba, has condemned dynamite fishing, describing it as lethal and a serious threat to the fishing industry.

Dr Tizeba warned fishermen who champion the outlawed explosive fishing in the country’s waters, saying deterrent legal measures await the culprits.

He sounded the warning while officiating at the World Fisheries Day at Ferry Fish Market in Dar es Salaam, adding that blast fishing was equally dangerous to all living organisms in the ocean. The Fisheries Day is celebrated yearly on November 21 throughout the world by the fishing stakeholders.

The Day helps to highlight the critical importance of water and the lives it sustains, both in and out of water, to human existence.

“Fishermen think illegal fishing is profitable, forgetting that they destroy the environment by killing the fishing sector that is required for future generations,’’ said the minister, insisting that majority fishermen were unable to reach the deep see, thus applying dynamites.

A recent United Nations study reported that over twothirds of the world’s fisheries have been overfished or are fully harvested and over one third are in a state of decline due to a number of factors, including loss of essential fish habitats, pollution and global warming.

Dr Tizeba said dynamite fishing was fuelling poverty in the country, with only few people derailing development of majority Tanzanians.

The minister described illegal fishing as a serious problem although majority fishermen just consider the huge but short-lived profits, warning that the government had embarked on a special campaign to decisively deal with the evil. He called on good Samaritans to report illegal fishing activities to responsible authorities to preserve the fish stock for the future generation.

At the celebrations, the minister provided his mobile number to fishermen to report to him any illegal activity. In his remarks, the Permanent Secretary (PS) in the ministry, Dr Yohana Budeba, said in commemorating the day, cleanliness was made in various fish markets countrywide.

“We will also present various papers to fishermen, including creating massive awareness on the Fisheries Act no 22 of 2003 and the fisheries regulations, 2009, the effects of illegal fishing and opportunities available in the fishing industry,’’ he added.