Bad fishing methods depleting fish stocks in Zambia

The issue with using mosquito nets instead of fishing nets is the size of the net. Mosquito nets are very fine-meshed, so they catch the smallest fish and sometimes even fish eggs. Local people's over-reliance on fishing in large bodies of water has also led to the depletion of fish species throughout the country. This is due to a lack of control measures and proper implementation of water management policies and laws.

Measures being put in place to control the situation
 

In order to reduce the loss of fish in Zambian waters, Fisheries and Livestock Minister Makozo Chikote has already implemented rigorous measures to replenish the major water bodies. Each year, he imposes a fishing ban in most of the country's commercial fishing areas lasting from the 1^st December to the last day in February. The ban is aimed at allowing different species of fish to reproduce during this peak breeding season. However, despite the ban, illegal fishing coupled with poor fishing methods has continued.

In addition to the annual fish ban, the Zambian government has devised a series of strategies such as conducting sensitisation campaigns among communities residing in proximity to water bodies, and committees have also been formed to educate people about sustainable strategies to save fish in water bodies. "Other than providing information on sustainable strategies on how to save fish, we have established breeding areas, and strict measures are prescribed for these areas to ensure that there are no fishing activities. This is in order to allow fish to breed; these strategies supplement the fish ban period,” Minister Makozo Chikote explains. The government is also trying to improve local fish species to enhance productivity. And scientists are on the ground researching to see what kind of fish species can be restocked in water bodies and understand the ecosystems of individual water bodies.

Agriculture and environmental stakeholders voice concern over the situation
 

But the Small-Scale Farmers Development Agency (SAFADA), an association for small-scale and emerging farmers in Zambia, says these measures are not enough. The agency's director and founder, Boyd Moobwe, has said that in Zambia, for example, the development of aquaculture should be promoted to eliminate harmful traditional fishing practices. And despite the annual fish ban, it is imperative to reinforce the rules and regulations that prohibit illicit and unsound fishing practices. But more still needs to be done. For example, small-scale farmers in rural areas ought to be empowered to also venture into crop farming. But this can only be done through sensitisations by the Ministry of Agriculture. “It’s unfortunate that despite some nongovernmental organisations coming up in the past with projects such as rice growing in some parts of the country where there water bodies, local people have failed to diversify but instead stick to fishing as a source of income and for consumption," Boyd Moobwe notes, explaining that this is due to the fact that for generations, communities around most water bodies have only believed in fishing as a way of life.

The nongovernmental organisation Save Environment and People Agency (SEPA) is also concerned. SEPA executive director Mailes Muke warns that the illegal practices also pollute the environment “Communities have to be created that guard water bodies on a daily basis. Illegal practices are normally performed in the night, when people aren’t looking,” Mailes Muke notes. “But surely the government can intensify whatever measures are there to curb this vice, and it should equip the fisheries departments with many officers and many vehicles to patrol water bodies.” If nothing is done, the country is at risk of soon running out of the most important fish species and stocks. The various organisations and the government must therefore work together to stop this development, Mailes Muke maintains.

Author:  Noel Kasolwe Iyombwa is a freelance environmental journalist based in Lusaka, Zambia. Contact: nliyombwa5@gmail.com