THE LOST PRIDE...!!!

Holding a parcel of fried or fresh fish when you leave Mwanza region it has been a traditions, Saving fish especially Nile Perch as the meal accompany that's what Mwanza has been proud of for so many years, but now things has changed fish has became most pricey dish to have compared with other dishes in Mwanza region,

Industries has drop down massively exportation of Nile perch fillet to European countries, Local fish traders has been suffering from lack of customers as the fish industries starts abating. Many times, when we talk about this scarcity, we talk about it as scarcity caused by natural cause, the justification which is not sufficient.

Fish has been back born of most indigenous people around Lake Zone regions for many years, now what happen; Fish has been insufficient to meet the needs of the people, especially given the constant increase of demand around Lake Zone, countrywide and world as whole. The scarcity is not natural, but rather that it has been socially constructed through human interventions.

It was noted by national audit office of Tanzania that fish stock is below the recommended amount. In 2011, the total available stock of Nile perch in the lake Tanzanian’s part is estimated at 165,439 tonnes while the annual quantity of removal of Nile perch is estimated to be 101,298 tonnes.

The audit found inadequate measures were taken to regulate the amount of Nile Perch caught since there was no limit set for the amount of fish/Nile perch to be caught per year due to the small scale nature of fishing which contribute to ministry failure to set the limit.

After Independence and in the late 1980’s fishing was done more and more intensively, but it sustained by the increasing rate of reproduction of the new species. At this point, the fish yield was still enough to sustain both the local communities and the demand from abroad. The fish destined for export was taken to Uganda and Kenya for processing this in one way or other delays the business.

In recent years the demand for fish for local traders to trade within the country and export them in neighboring regions was high also fish fillets demand from Europe was on the rise, making the fishing of Nile perch and other species highly profitable. Intensive fishing for export would not stop after independence.

This demand stimulate the intensive fishing which now it involve illegal fishing, invention of fish processing industries along shore of lake Victoria in Tanzania's part which in one way or another it contribute a lot in the scarcity of fish in lake Victoria, because some of them use unauthorized net for fishing which also helps in fishing even the offspring of the fish, apart from that also they use bombs and poison which also contribute a lot in this damage.

According to the Lake Victoria Fisheries Organization (LVFO), the massive exports and illegal fishing have led to fish scarcity and price hikes on the local market. More than 10 factories around Lake Victoria have closed and the remaining 25 are operating below capacity.

Weak fisheries law enforcement, illegal fishers were not sufficiently arrested compared to the illegalities they have done. Little effort and low priority among locals in fighting illegal fishing named among the factors which fuel the problem

However, this has come at a price, redundancies and slump of income among local traders which also led the shaking of economy because now industries and local traders can’t pay tax as they suppose to, because some of them closed their business or they reduced supply of their products. It’s the pain for both of us we all suffer from the tragedy; we lost the pride for serving the cheap demand.