Fish population below Sadc average
Saturday, 16 April 2011 21:20
BY CHIPO MASARA
IN a country where the majority live in abject poverty and struggle to put
food on the table, fishing is contributing immensely towards food security
and income generation in Zimbabwe.
Unfortunately, owing to detrimental fishing methods, the fish population has
been dwindling in the country’s lakes and rivers. Facts on the ground
continue to point to the fact that Zimbabweans are either generally ignorant
or are not interested in conserving the environment.
I’m strongly for the idea that fish and other aquatic life forms suitable
for human consumption found in our lakes and rivers be utilised to provide
food and a source of income for people, most of whom are impoverished.
However, to ensure sustainability, this should be done within the confines
of the law and the governing environmental policies. Like all other aquatic
life forms, fisheries in Zimbabwe are under the control and management of
the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, under the Parks and
Wildlife Act (Chapter 20:14).
It specifies that fishing in Zimbabwe is allowed only in some specified
waters and only after the issuance of a permit.
But because most people are evidently primarily concerned with maximum
self-enrichment without a care for the environmental impact, a lot of
illegal and unregulated fishing is going on in the whole country with
reports by FAO showing that Zimbabwe’s fish population is now way below the
Sadc average.
The fact that Zimbabwe is a landlocked country with a limited fishery output
does not help the situation. According to Johnny Rodrigues, chairman of the
Zimbabwe Conservative Task Force (ZCTF), although also causing a
considerable amount of harm, mostly by fishing at the wrong spots, people
that fish with fishing rods do not pose as much of a threat to the fish
population as those who illegally net fish on a commercial basis.
He added that net fishing was not illegal as long as one had a licence and
adhered to the stipulated days allowed for netting and net at the authorised
areas.
“There is also a law regarding the type of net you should use. The holes in
the nets should be big enough to allow the smaller fish to escape,”
Rodrigues said.
Unfortunately, fishermen, especially those that are fishing illegally, are
either ignorant or wouldn’t be bothered to comply with such measures and
resort to the most regrettable fishing methods that do despicable damage to
the fish population.
A good case to point would be in Kariba where the law enforcers are having a
torrid time with kapenta rigs insisting on fishing in restricted breeding
areas, where the fish go to lay their eggs.
“The fish swim down to the rivers to hatch their eggs and if they are left
alone, the eggs hatch and the newly born fish would swim into the main lake
where they would grow, ensuring the stability of the fish population. When
these illegal fishermen go down the rivers and catch fish which are full of
roe, they are actually destroying tens of thousands because those eggs would
never get the chance to hatch,” lamented the ZCTF chairman.
Most of the fishermen, desperate for an easy catch, leave the main lake
preferring to fish in the rivers, all the while oblivious, or simply
uncaring for the extent of the damage they are causing.
Although the law enforcement agencies have been on high alert, fish poaching
remains rampant, meaning more has to be done if the country is to conserve
its fish population.
This calls for a relook at existing policies with a view of tightening them.