Kampala — WHEN Mohammed Waiswa was growing up, few people ate the Nile Perch.

"The monster fish (Nile Perch) was considered too oily, bad smelling, and only fit for children to eat," he says.

After eating a meal of Nile Perch, the children would have to bathe immediately and the plates washed with hot water and a lot of soap. But times have changed.

The Nile Perch has taken European countries as one of the most sought-after commodities from Uganda. This is because it is free of cholesterol, which is blamed for heart disease. The local population is waking up too late to discover its nutritional values. "One has to dig deep into the pocket to put Nile Perch on the table," says Waiswa. "It is being left to the export market and the rich."

People like Waiswa would have turned to native species of fish, but these, too, are becoming scarce. "The native fish species would be a good source of food for many people, but they have either been eaten by the Nile Perch or are extinct because of over-fishing," points out Flugencio Kayiso.

Kayiso, a Makerere University PhD student, found out in a research thesis entitled, "Indigenous Knowledge, Conservation and Co-management of Fisheries Resources on Lake Victoria: A study of Small-Scale Fishing Communities in Wakiso District," that oral transmission of knowledge was effective in the past but not today.

"The veteran fishermen know where different species of native fish breed as well as their breeding seasons," he says.

"This knowledge could be harnessed to encourage the breeding of native fish and protection of the lake from destruction," Kayiso asserts. He also says the local fishermen had certain seasons when the lake would be closed to fishing in order to encourage fish to breed.

"I do not agree with people who say the lake should not be closed to fishing for some time," says Kayiso. "Closed fishing seasons are part of the conservation ethics of the veteran fishers."

Kayiso says the Beach Management Unit (BMU) concept, comprising fishermen has been introduced on Lake Victoria. This involves organised fishermen who regulate their own activities and is seen as one of the best approaches to integrating indigenous knowledge into the management of the lake.

But Ogutu Ohwayo, a consultant on fisheries resources, warns against high expectations. "It is extremely difficult to use indigenous knowledge to manage the lake when the drivers of destructive fishing are people who are coming from outside," Ogutu notes.

Partly to blame, Ogutu says, are absentee fishermen with fleets of up to 100 boats. Their interest is to make money regardless of the consequences. "When the mature fish is depleted they shift to the young fish," says Ogutu. "The more the fish becomes scarce, the more illegal gear they employ to catch it."

Ogutu also says the fish processors have not come up with a declaration not to buy immature fish. The fish factories sometimes buy immature fish because the market in Europe also prefers young fish. While the Nile Perch can grow and weigh up to 100kg, most processors will not export Nile Perch weighing more than 40kg.

In the recent past, however, the outcry over the depleted stocks has made some of the processing companies change their minds. This, according to the fisheries regulations, is the recommended minimum.

The beach management units would have brought sanity, but this is undermined by lack of commitment to the implementation of the rules and regulations, argues Ogutu.

"The people concerned with fisheries should show commitment to secure the fisheries resource," he says. "I do not think that many of the fisheries officers can measure up to the expected standards."

"We know the people who engage in illegal activities, but we cannot confront them directly since they live amongst us," says David Kiggundu of Kasenyi Beach Management Unit near Entebbe. "Many times we have contacted the authorities to arrest them, but the Police and the fisheries department have always frustrated us."

Another issue is that the BMUs have been infiltrated by politics. "There are cases where BMUs cannot enforce the law for fear of antagonising voters," he says. "In some cases the very fishermen that are notorious for using illegal fishing gear are the leaders of the BMUs."

Recommendations

Kayiso recommends more collaboration between fisheries staff and the local fishing communities. In addition, he wants the local institutions to be identified and used to promote conservation and management.

He also suggests that fisheries research should be used to restore either the lost or endangered species with a view of enhancing food security.

Indigenous knowledge should be included in the training curriculum of fisheries officers.

He also advises that closed fishing seasons and areas should be introduced in order to encourage fish to breed and recover from intense fishing pressure.