The number of famous fish called Nile perch has abruptly
decreased in Lake Victoria and has brought cries to families and to economic
status of East Africa.
Nile Perch commonly known as Sangara in Kiswahili was first
introduced into Lake Victoria in 1950 by British government with the aim of
increasing fish population. Nile perch can grow to a length of two meters and
can weigh up to 200 kilograms.
In due regard, it was taken as a species that was valueless such
that major consumers were ordinary families that could not afford expensive
fish species like tilapia, this is according to East
African Newspaper.
But the so called delicacy for ordinary people (Nile perch)
changed the status dramatically between 1992 and 2004 as scientists from
European countries found out that Omega 3 fatty acids that help heart problems
and high blood pressure are highly found to this fish. Such findings triggered
the change of the status of Nile perch from being delicacy for the ordinary to
a delicacy of the elite and made thirty-five million
people to depend on it directly or indirectly for a living Lake Victoria Fisheries Organization (LVFO) revealed.
Nile Perch being a delicacy for elite made the waves of other
sectors to change as fish processing plants in lake Victoria regions introduced
and provided employment to millions of people for by the end of 2006 there were
an estimated 200,0000 fishermen operating 65,000 boats were involved in Nile
perch fishing on Tanzania’s side of Lake Victoria.
The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) calculated that in the 1980s alone the boom created 180,000
jobs in the fishing industry. Besides fishermen, there were fish driers, fish
smokers, fish friers, fish buyers and sellers, net menders, boat builders and
boat repairs.
International donors keen as ever to jump on a winning horse,
funded establishment of fish processing factories around the lake. The
processors cleaned, filleted and packaged the fish thereby dispatching them in
cargo planes around the world. The Lake Victoria Fisheries Organization (LVFO)
In addition, over 180 tonnes of fresh Nile perch were
processed daily, ready to be exported to Europe. European Union (EU) countries
were consuming 80 percent of the total Nile perch fillet from Lake Victoria.
The value of annual exports of Nile perch fillet rose from zero in January 1992
to over $180 million by the end of 2004, according to details gathered by The Citizen Newspaper.
Mwanza city changed gradually from cotton to Nile
perch-oriented economy, for instance, there was an average of five
cargo planes with a capacity of 100 tonnes waiting to take to the air Nile
perch fillet to Europe every week from Mwanza Airport.
Currently, over two decades since the Nile perch was first
exported from Tanzania, the situation is alarming following a sharp decline in
stocks in Lake Victoria caused by, among other factors, over fishing. By the
end of 2004 when the export of Nile perch fillet was at its peak, about
Tanzanian shillings (Tsh.) 600 million (equivalent to US$363,000) were realized
by fishermen and middle persons daily. Thousands of fishermen in Lake Victoria
and their middle persons were earning about $132 million annually at that time.
The situation is appalling as many fishermen face a depressing
future as Nile perch stocks steadily dwindle. In due regard, fishermen are
counting their losses and so do the multimillion-dollar fish processing
factories, which have also been forced to lay off workers to stem losses.
According to the New Vision
Newspaper, there are several reasons, which are
said to contribute for the decline of Nile perch such as overfishing, catching
immature fish, environmental degradation and pollution on Lake Victoria thereby
killing the Nile perch, which forms the backbone of commercial fishing. The
young fish are starving and suffocating to death. The National Fisheries Resources Research
Institute (NaFIRRI) predicts doom if nothing
changes, they further report that micro-organisms in the lake on which the
young fish feed are also dying. This is brought about by the floating algae
bloom on the lake that is poisoning the fish and cutting off oxygen supply to
marine life.
Following the decline of Nile Perch, beneficiaries are now
witnessing the impact both economically and socially as more than thirty-five
million people who used to depend directly or indirectly for a living are now
hustling without knowing what to do. Also direct effects are seen economically
as now many fish processing plants are shut and number of tonnes of exported
vividly reduced.
With this, East African countries have attempted to reverse the
damage by introducing several techniques, namely, the most destructive nets
were banned outright, while the mesh size for other nets was regulated. Beach
seining and trawlers were outlawed such that limits were placed on the size of
fish that could be caught. However, despite the said efforts, recent surveys by
the LVFO have
shown that only 1 percent of the remaining Nile perch fall within legal harvest
size limits.
The LakeVictoria Fisheries Organization (LVFO) has instructed that the legal size of Nile perch to
be harvested should be between 50 and 85 centimeters in total length. This was
agreed on and legislated by the three countries of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda
in 2000. However, there has been no actual implementation or compliance by the
countries.
