Climate change and poor management of the fishing industry, have combined to negatively impacted on the sector, an environmental activist has said.

He said due to the two factors, the amount of fish harvested in the country estimated at 750, 000 tonnes annually, has dropped to 350,000 tonnes.

Speaking in Dar es Salaam yesterday, the chairperson of the Journalists Environmental Association of Tanzania (JET), Mr Deodatus Mfugale, said appropriate measures need to be taken to rescue the fishing industry.

"At the moment, neither the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries Development nor other related Government institutions have tangible statistics on the amount of fish harvested each year, or problems facing the industry in general," said Mr Mfugale.

He pointed out that despite the fact that the industry directly employs about 100,000 people in the country, small scale fishermen are poorly equipped and lack refrigeration equipment to preserve their catch.

He further explained that the industry contributes a mere10 to 12 per cent to the GDP, stating that an efficient fishing industry could contribute more to the economy.

He named other factors contributing to falling fishing volume as pollution in lakes, rivers, the ocean, and illegal fishing practices like use of dynamites.