The Ugandan government has warned fishermen to comply with new fisheries regulations or face arrest. The Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries initially set March 31st of this year as the deadline for issuing new licenses, but extended the deadline twice to respond to calls from fishing communities around the country. The extended deadline elapsed on May 31.
The ministry has made it clear that any fishermen found fishing without a valid license risk being considered illegal and arrested by soldiers working under the Fisheries Protection Unit (FPU). Speaking in a recent interview, the State Minister for Fisheries, Hellen Adoa, said their compliance enforcement team has already started working on all water bodies in the country.
Fishermen who haven’t paid for their licenses before the deadline set at the end of last year are now considered non-compliant and will face the full force of the law if caught fishing without a valid license. “Those [fishers] who have not paid for licenses, even if they are found with the right fishing gear, will be arrested and prosecuted,” said Adoa. Previous years’ license fees will also be collected from fishermen who had failed to obtain licenses in previous years and are arrested this year.
The warning has been issued despite calls from the National Chairperson of Association of Fishers and Lake Users (AFALU), Geoffrey Senyonga Kambugu, who called for continued sensitization of the fishing community. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, 14,600 boats were registered on Lake Victoria by March this year, of which 9,306 boats were licensed, accounting for 64 percent of the registered boats.
The registration of fishermen and boats is done every two years, while licensing is done annually in Uganda. Fishermen wishing to obtain licenses are required to provide Tax Identification Numbers (TINs) pin which can be obtained from the Uganda Revenue Authority offices, or National Identification Cards for citizens and passports for non-Ugandans.
There are fees to be paid for licenses as well, which depend on the waters the fishing vessels are operating in. For instance, any vessel operating on lakes such as Victoria, Albert, Kyoga, Edward, George and Wamala is supposed to pay Shs100,000 as a licence fee while vessels on Lake Nakivale and other minor lakes are charged Shs50,000.
Those operating on swamps, rivers and dams pay Shs25,000. The government aims to regulate fishing activities and prevent depletion of fish stocks in the country due to illegal fishing methods.
However, some fish dealers have complained about being charged exorbitantly since last year. The government has responded by setting new fees and clarifying that non-citizens operating in the country must pay an annual license fee of Shs2m.
Fish trucks of less than five tonnes are required to pay a license fee of Shs250,000 while those carrying between five and ten tonnes are charged Shs750,000. Each fish processing factory is supposed to pay Shs3m for their license. Fishing is an important economic activity in Uganda, providing employment to around 200,000 people, according to data from the International Association of Fish Inspectors.
It is, therefore, vital that efforts be made to ensure that the country’s fisheries are sustainably managed to provide food security and livelihoods for future generations.
