Malawi: Government Sounds Alarm On Illegal Fishing Gear

Niklas Mattson/FAO
FAO, together with the government and with the financial support of GEF, is helping communities “bring back the fish” through better fisheries management and controls on illegal fishing, as well as activities that help the lakeside environment bounce back.
11 October 2013
Malawi News Agency (Lilongwe)
By Sophie Gomani

Lilongwe — Government says in 2012 there was a rise in the use of illegal fishing gears in some of Malawi's water bodies.

Deputy Director for the Department of Fisheries, Dr. Steve Donda told Malawi News Agency (Mana) in an interview that a Frame Survey conducted by the department in 2012 revealed that some fishermen were using Nkacha fishing nets which are not allowed in some of Malawi's water bodies.

"The Nkacha nets have small mesh size which trap baby fishes and fish eggs along with the big fish," said Dr. Donda.

Dr. Donda said there have been several reports of fishermen using the Nkacha nets in Lake Malawi especially in Mangochi, Salima and Nkhotakota districts.

"The Nkacha net fishery are only allowed in Lake Malombe," explained Dr. Donda

The Department of Fisheries recently concluded this year's annual Frame Survey which run for two weeks from 23 September to 3 October 2013.

According to Dr. Donda, the aim of the Frame Survey is to get a record of all fishing gears and numbers of fishermen that give a reflection of fishing effort in a particular year.

"The results of the survey are used to generate a raising factor that is used in estimation of fish production in capture fisheries," he said.

He said the estimation is done through sampling of fish catches throughout the year at selected beaches.

Meanwhile, the Department of Fisheries is urging fishermen to use bigger sized nets that are recommended in water bodies.

Read the original article on Malawi News Agency.

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