There are two major sources of fish in Uganda; one is from aquaculture, the other from fishing in rivers and lakes. The latter has made up the largest and most significant share of all fishing. Open water covers 15.3 percent of Uganda's surface and comprises five major lakes (Lake Victoria, Lake Albert (Africa), Lake Kyoga, Lake Edward and Lake George (Uganda)) which are the main sources of fish in the country. Lake Victoria continues to be the most important water body in Uganda both in size and contribution to the total fish catch, followed by Lake Albert and Lake Kyoga."2013 Statistical Abstract" ubos.org.Retrieved on October 29, 2014.
Uganda's main sources of fish supply for both the domestic and export markets are the districts on Lake Victoria, particularly Mukono, Mpigi, Kalangala, Masaka and Luwero. Lake Kyoga, Albert, George and Edward districts are other major sources of fish. The major urban centres within the Lake Victoria belt, namely Kampala, Masaka, Jinja and Entebbe constitute the main domestic market centres for fresh fish. Although considerable fish supplies reach these market nuclei and most of the other district headquarters markets, inadequate supplies reach most of the rural markets."Towards an Management Regime for the Fisheries Resources of Uganda/" unuftp.is. Retrieved on October 29, 2014.
Primary production of fish is generally done on a relatively small-scale, as most of the fishing is carried out using small, wooden (plank-built) boats about six to eight meters in length propelled by oars or, in an increasing number of cases, a petrol engine fastened to the back of the boat. These simple boats are sufficient to carry fishermen to and from the fishing grounds with full loads of fish."The political economy of the fisheries sector in Uganda: ruling elites, implementation costs and industry interests" subweb.diis.dk.Retrieved on October 30, 2014.
History The roots, during the late 1980S and 1990s, government embarked on revamping the fishing sector. The sector now contributes immensely to the country’s economy. Many centuries ago, fish production was mainly by a few fisherfolk communities living by the lakesides who bartered fish for other food commodities. Fishing activities were characterized by the use of traditional gears such as spears, arrows, fish-pots, and the capture of fish by hand in shallow waters of lakes, rivers and swamps or fish poisoning with local herbs. However, these types of gears and methods still exist in minor lakes, the River Nile Basin and shallower areas of Lake Victoria. The fishing activity was relatively at a subsistence level. In the mid-1950s, foreign traders introduced Japanese nylon gillnets which proved more effective in the fishery than the cotton, hemp and flax gillnets. Nylon gillnets gave higher catchability characteristics than any other gears mainly because of higher tensile strength, mesh-size constancy, resistance to abrasion and durability of the nylon fibre material. The introduction of new fish species also boosted fish production. Fish production increased by six times in 30 years rising from 60,000 tons in 1961 to 245,000 tons in 1990 partly as a result of higher productivity of the lakes but also because of the increased catch effort. In 1983 when production was estimated at 78,000 tons p.a., potential production or Maximum sustainable yield (MSY) was estimated at 150,000 tons, yet by 1990 production had exceeded this level by 55,000 tons.
In all areas outside the central Lake Kyoga region, fish production increased throughout the 1980s. The Ugandan government supported several programs to augment fish production and processing. In 1987 a government-sponsored Integrated Fisheries Development Project established a boat construction and repair workshop at Jinja; a processing plant, several fish collecting centers, and fish marketing centers in several areas of Uganda. They also implemented the use of refrigerated insulated vehicles for transporting fish. China had managed the reconstruction of cold storage facilities in Kampala in the early 1980s. Soon after that, the government established the Sino-Uganda Fisheries Joint Venture Company to exploit fishing opportunities in Lake Victoria.Uganda country study . Library of Congress Federal Research Division (December 1990). This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
Uganda's Freshwater Fisheries Research Organization monitored fishing conditions and the balance of flora and fauna in Uganda's lakes. In 1989 this organization warned against overfishing, especially in the Lake Kyoga region, where the combined result of improved security conditions and economic hardship was a 40- percent increase in commercial and domestic fishing activity. A second environmental concern in the fishing industry was the weed infestation that had arisen in lakes suffering from heavy pollution. In late 1989, officials were relatively unsuccessful in restricting the types and levels of pollutants introduced into the nation's numerous lakes.
A few fishers used explosives obtained from stone quarries to increase their catch, especially in the Victoria Nile region near Jinja. Using byproducts from beer manufacturing to lure fish into a feeding area, they detonated small packs of explosives that killed large numbers of fish and other aquatic life. Several people drowned in the frantic effort to collect dead fish that floated to the surface of the water. Environmental and health concerns led the government to outlaw this form of fishing, and local officials were seeking ways to ban the sale of fish caught in this manner. Both bans were difficult to enforce, however; fishing with dynamite continued in 1989 despite the widespread notoriety attached to this activity.
Economy of fishing in Uganda
The Ugandan fisheries sector is important in terms of employment, poverty reduction and foreign exchange revenues. Fishing is one of the major economic activities. Lakes, rivers and swamps account for 44,000 km2 of Uganda's surface area of 241,000 km2. Fish activities are mainly carried out in open water sources and provide a livelihood to many people in Uganda. There are (2002) an estimated 250,000 artisan fishermen (136,000 on Lake Victoria), while nearly a million people (700,000 around Lake Victoria) benefit from fishery-related activities like local fish-processing, fish trade, boat-building, industrial fish-processing, netmaking, trade in fishing equipment, fisheries research, extension services and administration.
Aquaculture
Aquaculture in Uganda is recorded to have started in 1941 after carp was imported into the country. Fish farming was officially proposed by the colonial authorities and the Kajjansi Fish Experimental Station established in 1947. However, the introduction of carp was embroiled in controversies due to differences among the lead scientists on the possible adverse impact of common carp on the indigenous aquatic environment in case they escaped from the confines of the fishponds. Because of this, it was decided to use tilapia for stocking purposes. A vigorous fish farming extension programme resulted in the construction of 1 500 ponds by 1956; these were concentrated in the central region (Buganda) and the most southwestern part of the country (Kigezi). In 1959–60 an FAO-supported comparative evaluation of carp and tilapia endorsed the use of carp and resulted in further expansion of aquaculture in Uganda. Aquaculture was further promoted under the drive for rural development, and by late 1968 the Department of Fisheries recorded up to 11 000 pounds mostly producing fish for subsistence. However, subsistence farming was largely based on the supply of seed from farmer to farmer and/or from the government station, which hampered the expansion of the aquaculture sub-sector. Changing policies under successive governments also led to uneven support and many farmers abandoned ponds due to lack of stocking materials, limited technical guidance and excessive government regulatory regimes. The Fisheries Master Plan study of 1999 established that Uganda had only 4 500 functioning ponds with only a portion stocked, producing 285 tonnes of fish annually."National Aquaculture Sector Overview. Uganda" fao.org. Retrieved November 11, 2014
With the government's strategic intervention and support from development partners such as FAO, aquaculture has picked up once again reaching 15,000 tonnes of fish currently (2005) produced from 20,000 ponds of an average size of 500 m2. Due to the limited availability of fish seed, carp has fallen out of favour, and North African catfish, along with Nile tilapia, has taken its place. Although fish farming in Uganda has so far been pond- and subsistence-based, the growing interest in commercial aquaculture is providing an impetus towards cage-culture based aquaculture.
Pond culture is the most common system in the country. Other forms of fish culture such as cage culture are only starting to be discussed especially by the emerging commercial fish farmers. Previously farmers, 99 percent of whom were subsistence fish farmers, had ponds ranging anywhere from 50 m2 to 200 m2. The majority (an estimated 60 percent) remain at a subsistence level of production with little or no technical inputs or management. With the drive to commercialise aquaculture, production efforts to increase the pond surface have resulted in a current average of 500 m2 per pond. Farmers at this level have adopted the use of inputs such as quality fish seed and feed. The feed, however, is still usually made on-farm using formulae provided by the Aquaculture Research and Development Centre, Kajjansi.
Until recently, most fish farmers in Uganda were poor people in villages who practiced aquaculture for subsistence with ponds of usually less than 500 m2 constructed using family labour. These are low or no input production systems, with little or no need for routine management. Those who have had some training in the management of ponds usually fertilize their ponds with either chicken droppings or cow dung and any other organic house waste. Production is usually in the range of 5 kg to 10 kg/100 m2 (i.e. 500 kg to 1,000 kg per hectare) per annum. The number of ponds at this level is estimated at 11,000 to 15,000 pounds with nearly 80 percent currently active. These 11,000 to 15,000 ponds are of an average size of 200 m2 and are owned by an estimated 8,000 farmers."Uganda’s fishy picture" newvision.co.ug. Retrieved November 25, 2014
Types of fish in Uganda
The waters of Uganda contain an impressive array of fish species—over 90 in all. This count does not include the Haplochromis complex, which itself is made up of more than 200 species. Fish that are the target of most commercial and subsistence exploitation include species of Lates (Nile perch), Oreochromis (Nile tilapia), the herring-like Alestes, the catfishes Bagrus and Clarias, Hydrocynus (Tiger fish), the small pelagic "sardine" Rastrineobola, Protopterus (lungfish), and the haplochromines. The commonest fish types in Uganda include:"List of Freshwater Fishes for Uganda" fish.mongabay.com.Retrieved on October 29, 2014. Nile perch locally known as "Empuuta" Singidia tilapia locally known as "Engege" Nile tilapia Catfish locally known as "Emmale""Emmale is the snake-like fish that many find a delicacy" monitor.co.ug. Retrieved November 12, 2014 Silver fish (fish) locally known as "Mukene""Uganda's Mukene Harvest the Lowest in East Africa" ugandaradionetwork.com. Retrieved November 14, 2014 Lungfish locally known as "Emmamba" Eels locally known as "Ensonzi" Sprat locally known as "Enkejje" Clarias locally known as "Emalle"
Fishing gear and methods used in Uganda