Socio-economics of the Lake Victoria Fisheries Trawling in Lake Victoria : Its History, Status and Effects.
Trawling is carried out on Lake Victoria both for research and commercial purposes. Commercial trawling on the Kenyan side of the lake began in the 1960s, mainly to harvest haplochromines, but in the last two decades Nile perch has been the main species targeted. The trawlers are in business primarily to supply fish to the processing factories for export. They have cold storage facilities on board, thus ensuring high quality of fish. For this reason, there is strong linkage between trawling and the fish processing industry. Some factories own trawlers while others finance the operations of privately owned trawl boats, which supply them with fish. In Kenya 5-10% of the fish processed by factories is caught by trawlers. Of the fish landed by trawlers, it is mainly reject and undersize fish that is made available to the artisanal fish processors and traders. A trawler with engine capacity of about 300 HP and fitted with suitable gear can catch over 1 ton of fish in a day, earning the owner good profits. Such a trawler can employ about 10 crew. In comparison, about 8 artisanal boats employing over 30 crew can catch the same amount of fish. On a limited resource base such as Lake Victoria, therefore, one trawler can potentially displace many artisanal boats, resulting in a net loss of employment. At times though, trawlers assist in rescuing capsized boats or tow small vessels loaded with fish back to land. Trawling is regarded as the appropriate fishing method in deep parts of the lake where there are strong undercurrents. However, in practice, trawlers rarely restrict their activities to the open waters, preferring to operate in the shallower but richer fishing grounds traditionally occupied by artisanal fishermen. They destroy the set gillnets and long lines, leading to conflicts between the two groups. Trawlers can also have adverse biological implications. Bottom trawling disturbs the substrate, the water column and interferes with the breeding ground and the spawning process, especially for tilapines. It can also destroy larvae and eggs of fish, macro and micro-invertebrates at different strata of the lake. Thus, trawling using non-selective mesh nets, may cause overfishing by taking away both the adult and juvenile fish, reducing their potential yield. Trawlers and beach seines are officially banned in all parts of the lake. However, there is a big gap between fisheries policy statements and actual practice in all three countries. In Tanzania, for example, the enforcement of fisheries regulations is hindered by many factors. These include the lack of logistical support and inadequate remuneration to field staff, poor interpretation of the law by enforcement officers and mismatch between the fisheries policy goals and the interests of local communities. Although the ban on trawling in Tanzania when it was implemented, negatively affected business activities and employment, it also subsequently caused an increase in average catch to artisanal fishers. Before the ban, trawlers landed about 15 tons of fish daily in Tanzania. Trawlers do not in any way complement the activities in the artisanal fishery. Rather, increased trawling activities can have negative consequences on local employment, food security and resource sustainability. In conclusion, the negative socio-economic and biological effects of trawling on Lake Victoria clearly outweigh its advantages.
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Report biblioteca |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
IUCN EARO
1998
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| Subjects: | Socioeconomic aspects, Trawling, Trawlers, Fishing gear, Fishing vessels, |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1834/7869 |
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