Last week, Samuel Kambale Muluko, the President of Civil Society in Kyavinyonge, a locality in the chiefdom of Bashu, Beni territory, North Kivu province admitted that the population of fish on the Congo side of the lake has reduced heavily.
Ugandan
security personnel have warned Congolese fishermen against crossing to fish from
the Ugandan side of Lake Edward.
The Lake
that is shared between Uganda by 29 percent and the Democratic Republic of
Congo-DRC by 71 percent is a major source of fish species.
Last week,
Samuel Kambale Muluko, the President of Civil Society in Kyavinyonge, a
locality in the chiefdom of Bashu, Beni territory, North Kivu province admitted
that the population of fish on the Congo side of the lake has reduced heavily.
Kambale explains that though fish on the Congolese side of the coast
reproduce by 500 metric tons, fishermen attack breeding grounds and kill all
the species while fishing.
Kambale says
that Congolese fishermen are forced to illegally cross to the Ugandan side of
the lake to carry out fishing.
Kambale
attributes the problem to the laxity of the services authorized to apply the
fishing regulations on the Congolese side of the lake. He cites in particular
the Congolese naval force of failure to conduct investigations and fight
against illegal fishing at the lake.
“Those who
are supposed to regulate fishing at lake level include the Congolese naval
force, the environment service, and agriculture, fishing, and livestock. But
why don't they track down these fishermen?” adds Kambale.
Captain
Fidèle Bahati Matembela, the Congolese commander of the naval force on Lake
Edward, insists that his unit is fully involved in the fight against illegal
fishing. He however promises to have meetings with civil society and fishermen
to set up strategies together in a fight against poor fishing methods.
Warrant
Officer I Deogratious Ssentiba, the UPDFG Fisheries Protection Unit
Spokesperson says that the laxity of authorities in Congo has let fishermen
continue to illegally cross the Ugandan side. Ssentiba says that Ugandan
security is determined to protect Ugandan waters to make sure that fishing is
done in a proper way so that income is generated.
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Uganda.”//
Ssentiba warns that Congolese fishermen who
continue to illegally cross Uganda will be arrested and charged accordingly
because poor methods of fishing are totally prohibited.
//Cue in: “if they keep…
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Uganda.”//
Josué
Mukura, Secretary of Federation of Lake Edward Individual Fishermen (FECOPEILE)
in North Kivu province, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo says
that last month 18 fishermen from Kyavinyonge were arrested by Ugandan
authorities for illegally crossing to fish from the Ugandan side but were later
released on police bond.
In February,
thirty Congolese fishermen from Vitshumbi were arrested and ten canoes seized
by the Ugandan navy.
