Fishing gear selectivity for Lates niloticus L., Oreochromis niloticus L. and Rastrineobola argentea P. in Lakes Victoria, Kyoga and Nabugabo

Catch effort data on which fisheries management regulations are sometimes based are not available for most lakes in Uganda. However, failure to regulate fishing gears and methods has been a major cause of collapse of fisheries in the country. Fisheries have been damaged by destructive and non-selective fishing gears and methods such as trawling and beach seining, by use of gill nets of mesh size which crop immature fish and by introduction of mechanised fishing. Selectivity of gears used to crop Lates niloticus L.(Nile perch), Oreochromis niloticus L. (Nile tilapia) and Rastrineobola argentea Pellegrin (Mukene) which are currently the most important commercial species in Uganda were examined in order to recommend the most suitable types, sizes and methods that should be used in exploiting these fisheries. Gill nets of less than 127 mm mainly cropped immature Nile tilapia and Nile perch. To protect these fisheries, the minimum mesh size of gill nets should be set at 127 mm. Seine nets of 5 mm caught high proportions in immature Mukene while those of 10 mm caught mainly mature Mukene. When operated inshore, both sizes caught immature Nile perch and Nile tilapia as by-catch. To protect the Mukene fishery and avoid catching immature bye-catch, a minimum mesh size of the Mukene net should be 10 mm operated as Lampara type net offshore, but since most fishermen have been using 5 mm seine nets for over five years the minimum size should not be allowed to drop below 5 mm pending further thorough investigations. Beach seining and trawling are destructive to fisheries and should be prohibited until data that may justify their use is available.

Status of the beach management units development in Uganda

Fisheries plays a significant and important part in the economy of the country contributing to foreign exchange, food security and employment creation. Lake Victoria contributes over 50% of the total annual fish catch. The purpose of fisheries management is to ensure conservation, protection, proper use, economic efficiency and equitable distribution of the fisheries resources both for the present and future generations through sustainable utilization. The earliest fisheries were mainly at the subsistence level. Fishing gear consisted of locally made basket traps, hooks and seine nets of papyrus. Fishing effort begun to increase with the introduction of more efficient flax gillnets in 1905. Fisheries management in Uganda started in 1914. Before then, the fishery was under some form of traditional management based on the do and don'ts. History shows that the Baganda had strong spiritual beliefs in respect of "god Mukasa" (god of the Lake) and these indirectly contributed to sustainable management of the lake. If a fisherman neglected to comply witt'l any of the ceremonies related to fishing he was expected to encounter a bad omen (Rev. Roscoe, 1965) However, with the introduction of the nylon gill nets, which could catch more fish, traditional management regime broke down. By 1955 the indigenous fish species like Oreochromis variabilis and Oreochromis esculentus had greatly declined in catches. Decline in catches led to introduction of poor fishing methods because of competition for fish. Government in an attempt to regulate the fishing irldustry enacted the first Fisheries Ordinance in 1951 and recruited Fisheries Officers to enforce them. The government put in place minimum net mesh-sizes and Fisheries Officers arrested fishermen without explaining the reason. This led to continued poor fishing practices. The development of government centred management systems led to increased alienation of resource users and to wilful disregard of specific regulations. The realisation of the problems faced by the central management system led to the recognition that user groups need to be actively involved in fisheries management if the systems are to be consistent with sustainable fisheries and be legitimate. Community participation in fisheries management under the Comanagement approach has been adopted in Lake Victoria including other water bodies.