The latest biological break which allows reproduction for aquatic animals as well as the restoration of Lake Kivu started on August 28 and will end on October 28.
Authorities often suspend fishing activity in Lake Kivu for a period averaging two months, in what is known as 'biological breaks', to allow for the multiplication and restocking of fish in the lake.
According to the Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB), the biological break is the strategy used to sustain the productivity of lakes. It is imposed once a year, between July and October, due to the fish catch drop, and is always a two-month break which can be extended based on the fishermen's consent.
Solange Uwituze, RAB's Deputy Director General in charge of Animal Resources Development, told The New Times that the Government suspends fishing activities on Lakes for reproduction purposes which enhances the lakes' fish production.
The biological break does not apply to all Rwandan lakes simultaneously. The vice president of the fishermen's cooperative, Xavier Shyirambere, lauded the fishing break because it increases fish harvests in the long run.
"Just think about it! We fish for a whole year without breaking and then break when we are capturing only five kilograms of Isambaza after having invested a lot of money. But, after the break, some of the lucky fishermen catch 300 kilograms of fish per day. After the break, the fishing industry becomes one of the most lucrative businesses in the country," he said.
Dramatic change after the break
Innocente Uwabanyiginya, a Rwandan woman who invests in the fishing business around the lake, attests to the increase in production after the biological break.
"We learn from experience that biological break has a paramount contribution to fish production. The months of June to July are very harsh for us. For instance, before the break, you invest Rwf50,000 per day only to reap Rwf5,000! But, there is a dramatic change after the break; every fisherman can catch at least 200 kilogrammes of Isambaza per day, and what was Rwf4,000 payment per kilogramme drops to Rwf1,000 because of the huge catch," she said.
The break is imposed to minimize the loss for fishermen as well as to allow fish to reproduce and grow into mature fish which can be captured by legal fishing gear, Shyirambere added.
Asked about the concern that the fishing break or suspension is only applicable on the Rwandan side of Lake Kivu, and not on the DR Congo side of the same lake, Uwituze admitted that the lack of a mutual management framework of the lake by both countries hinders fishing activities.
"There are challenges resulting from both sides sharing a lake and not having the same management system. However, if this was implemented on both sides, it would reduce the illegal fishing activities during this period which would allow a higher increase in production," Uwituze said.
"There are many Sambazas on the market even if we are under a biological break. They come from DR Congo where fishermen do not have a fishing break. It's quite clear; we sweat for them to prosper," said Kassim Niyonkuru, a local fisherman.
Uwituze noted that major fish species in Lake Kivu do not migrate but also underscored the fact that there is no effective way to control the movement of fish in the shared lake.
"Isambaza is the major species in Lake Kivu and it is not a migratory species. It likes a quiet environment for its reproduction and growth, but the lake is an open environment where the wild aquatic animal movement can't be controlled for them to not cross the border," she emphasized.
According to a study conducted by the Lake Kivu Monitoring Programme (LKMP) from 2012 to 2014, before the introduction of Isambaza into Lake Kivu, in 1959, fishing was a marginal activity for the local population, with an estimated annual production of around 1,500 tonnes per year. Fish production gradually increased to an average annual production estimated at 6,000 tonnes per year in 1999.
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A new study on Lake Kivu records an increase in fishing production from 18,756 tonnes in 2020/21 to 19,479 tonnes in 2021/22. The total fish production in Rwanda was 41,664 tonnes in 2021 to 43, 560 tonnes in 2022. The data justifies the fact that the government is still far from the target of producing 112,000 tonnes of fish by 2024.
Lake Kivu has various fish species, including sardines, locally known as isambaza, tilapia, and haplochromis, known locally as indugu. According to a 2020 Ministerial Order, a fishing license can be suspended for three months if the holder violates its usage for the first time. If the violation is repeated, a fisherman can get a one-year suspension.
