The fisheries department in Sumbawanga District, Rukwa Region has destroyed 52 unauthorised fishing nets and other illegal fishing gear estimated to have a total value of 41m/-.
Fisheries Officer in Sumbawanga District Council, Kulwa Lukuba said the fishnets were seized following an impromptu operation on the shores of Lake Rukwa which he said has of recent times being overwhelmed by illegal fishing gear.
“As fisheries experts, we’re worried with the current stock of fish in this important water body that’s why we carried out this operation,” he said warning that stock of fish in the southwest lake is dwindling at alarming rates.
He said fisheries experts and police officers managed to seize unfriendly fishing gear left behind by unscrupulous fishermen who ran off and are still at large.
“Among the fishing gears include canoes, which were loaded with 41 unauthorized fishnets and 11 mosquito nets,” he detailed.
Lukuba said that fishermen have been using unauthorized fishnets which end-up fishing even the small fish which threatens survival of the entire fishing industry.
He cited education for the fishermen as a solution to the illegal fishing at the lake.
Fisheries experts at the lake which lies in the Rukwa valley along the same ecosystem as the Katavi National Park, are also worried of the increasing human activities near the lake.
He cited settlements and farming that he said cause environmental degradation around the lake.
Recently, authorities in Rukwa Region suspended fishing activities at Lake Rukwa for three months effective this January to April 30 in a bid to increase fish stock in the fresh-water body.
Lake Rukwa is one of the important source of revenue for local government authorities and the central government, but is now overwhelmed by a number of challenges including dwindling of fish stock as a result of overexploitation, illegal fishing practices and habitat destruction.
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