Operation hailed for boosting fishing industry

By DAILY NEWS Reporter

THE parliamentary committee on Agriculture, Livestock and Water has commended the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries for protecting fish in the country’s waters and increasing the country’s revenue during its ‘Operation Sangara.’

Led by the Committee Chairman, Mahmoud Mgimwa, the members hailed the ministry during a special seminar provided to parliamentarians in Dodoma to sensitise them on the fisheries sector. Mr Mgimwa requested the ministry to plan for a similar seminar to all members of parliament (MPs) so that they can have a collective understanding on the challenges posed by illegal fishing, loss of government revenue as well as illegal export of fish outside the country.
During his presentation on the fisheries sector, the Director of the Department of Fisheries Development, Mr Emmanuel Bulayi said research findings indicate that the percentage of legally recognised Nile perch of between 50 and 85 centimeters was now only 3 per cent in Lake Victoria. Statistics according to him show that in the previous years, Lake Victoria had 550 different types of fish, but currently there were only three types.
He added that in 2015 alone, Nile Perch fishing in the lake stood at 101,573 tonnes, out of which only 8, 337 were on slot size, meaning many fishing activities at that time targeted premature fish that are below 50 and 85 centimeters. Mr Bulayi said there was an increase of illegal fishing activities by 63.8 per cent, posing a threat on the disappearance of fish in Lake Victoria.
Because of this, the number of fishing processing industries went down from 13 that were available in 1998 to 8. Fishing production, he added, had equally slowed down from 1065 tonnes per day to 171 tonnes, thus reducing employment opportunities from 4088 to 2179. The committee therefore directed the ministry to make sure that ‘Operation Sangara’ was sustainable until illegal fishing was completely curbed in the lake and that the ministry should take stern actions against whoever engaged in the illegal business.
Mr Bulayi added that fishing products were being exported illegally without paying all requisite taxes, adding that fish that were transported in Songwe and Mbeya regions were 9,020,000 and 3,621,100 kilogrammes respectively, an equivalent of 40 per cent.
He added that it was the only consignment whose owners paid loyalties in the 2016/2017 Financial Year. According to permits issued at Sirari border, only 288,000 kilogrammes of fish had cleared loyalties.
The Minister for Livestock and Fisheries, Luhaga Mpina told MPs that during an operation, there were daily assessments made by operation commanders and that the ministry’s top leaders were visiting citizens to collect assessment reports. He added that after the first phase of the operation, the ministry went through financial assessment and that it was satisfied with the revenue collected.