Fishermen call for speedy development of new policy 

Players in the fisheries sector under the Association of Fishers and Lake Users of Uganda (AFLU) have implored the government to speed up development of the new fishers’ policy to ensure that some fish species are protected from extinction from Uganda’s waters.

The call comes as the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries is drafting a new policy that will guide fishers on lakes in Uganda during fishing of small pelagic species.

The Policy is being developed by National Fisheries Resources Research Institute (NaFRRI), a government body responsible for research in all water bodies across the country to guide the management of fisheries and the sector.

According to the Association chairperson Mr Godfrey Kambugu, the new policy is long overdue.

“We are supposed to exploit in such a way that does not destroy the biodiversity or the other species and this type of technology is destructive and we support the government and the technical team to review this and maybe go back to the old technology called scooping method,” Mr Kambugu said.

Written by Mike Sebalu