Lake Tanganyika fish stock down by 18 per cent

 Daily News reporter

KIGOMA: FISH production on Lake Tanganyika has dwindled by 18 per cent in the last four years affected mainly by illegal and unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

The Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries, Chief Fisheries Officer, Mr Ambakisye Simtoe told the ‘Daily News’ in a phone interview recently that the production went down from 104,178 tonnes in 2020 to 85,180 tonnes last year and was also affected by overfishing and climate change.

“These combination factors are the major causes of declining yields,” Mr Simtoe said. He said these factors affected the fish production on the country’s side of Lake Tanganyika. According to Mr Simtoe the survey conducted by the Tanzania Fisheries Research Institute (TAFIRI) in 2022 revealed Lake Tanganyika part of Tanzania has 144,690 tonnes of population of ‘migebuka’ and sardines but the population declined by 8.0 per cent compared to 1995 which was 157,493 tonnes.

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Additionally, the Chief Fisheries Officer Katavi region has experienced a worse harvest of fish that fell by 45 per cent from 25,895 tonnes in 2020 to merely 14,335 tonnes last year.

Lake Tanganyika is the world’s second-largest lake by volume that borders Tanzania, Zambia, DRC and Burundi. Millions of people rely on the rich aquatic biodiversity reserve for food and income.

Yet post-harvest losses caused by poor handling and process techniques as well as impacts of climate change and poor fishing methods are threatening the future of fishing on the lake.

Meanwhile, the government has suspended fishing activities in Lake Tanganyika for three months from last week to boost the fish population in the world’s longest freshwater lake. The three-month suspension is aimed at increasing fish reproduction, controlling illegal fishing, curbing environmental degradation and ultimately increasing productivity among fishing communities.

Deputy Minister for Fisheries and Livestock Mr Alexander Mnyeti made the announcement recently at Kasanga Ward along the shoreline of Lake Tanganyika in Kalambo District, Rukwa Region. Mr Mnyeti said the suspension was a collective decision by Tanzania and its neighbours Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Zambia.