Fish Statstics Report 1956
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PART III - FISHERIES 189. A brief general account of the year's progress in fisheries has been given in the foreword to this report, whilst detailed accounts of departmental activities in the Lake Albert and George/Edward regions and in fish farming have been prepared by the officers responsible, and follow in later pages. The report for Lake Kyoga is based on infonnation and statistics supplied by the Fisheries Assistant in charge of the area. SECTION I.-ADMINISTRATION Staff 190. Fisheries Officers.-Lists of the fisheries staff, showing their stations and areas of responsibility, are given in the appendices to this report. There were no changes of senior personnel during the year and the fact that all stations have had the same staff for several years has led to continuity of development and a feeling of confidence in the Department and its schemes amongst the fishermen. 191. Two additional posts of Fisheries Development Officers ~ere created and filled by Africans, one by the Engineering Assistant on promotion and the other by the appointment of a Makerere College science trainee. One of the officers was put on fish farming extension work and the other on general development duties. It is encouraging to. the older members of the Department that educated Africans with a genuine interest in fisheries work are now coming forward for these and other senior posts. 192. Fisheries Assistants and Fish Guards.-Additional posts of one Fisheries Assistant and two ltF'ish Guarcfg... were created to provide for increased developments in fish fanning. The establishment was thus brought up to five Fisheries Assistants and sixty Fish Guards. A re~ision of the Fish Guards' rates of pay to take account of educational standards enabled the Department to recruit a better type of person than hitherto. There is now a cadre of young and keen Guards who respond well to training and will in time be suitable for promotion to posts of greater responsibility. That fisheries work is popular is shown by the fact that nearly a thousand applications for employment were received. 1 Legislation 193. The fishing and crocodile industries continued to be regulated by the Fish and Crocodiles Ordinance, 1950, the Fishing Rules, 1951, the Lake Victoria Fisheries Act, 1950, and the Lake Victoria Fisheries Regulations, 1951. 194. By Legal Notice No.4 of 1957 the Fishing Rules were amended taken in the to prohibit net fishing within 100 yards of the shore of Butiaba island. down is as! This amendment was necessary as it had been found that seine-netting on coport,th a commercial scale, with the attendant camps of fishermen, was destructive to the structure of the island which acts as a breakwater to protect Butiaba Bay and the East African Railways and Harbours' installations at Butiaba. J 195. The legislation concerning Lake Victoria was amended to 5"1 permit the use of gill nets of between three inches and five inches stretched 4~ 41 mesh in Uganda waters, and also those of Tanganyika. Details are given 3~ in the Annual Report of the Lake Victoria Fisheries Service. ~~\ ~~ \ SECTION n.-GENERAL STATISTICS AND INFORMATION Supplies of Fishing Gear ~ 196. Fishing N ets.~Nets of all brands and types were in good supply T during 1956; in fact some dealers were overstocked. Nylon and other synthetic nets increased in popularity to such an extent that dealers had some difficulty in disposing of stocks of nets made of the traditional flax and 199 1 cotton and often only did so at prices considerably under cost. British less than \ ;manufacturershad a difficult year as the trickle of Japanese imports, which englOes, p~ had begun the previous year, developed into a flood and final import figures further £1 showed that Britain's share of the market had been only 50 % as compared ,with 90 % in 1955. Fishermen were influenced in their swing to Japanese ,nets by reason of their cheapness compared with British nets, although their Fish sup] quality is slightly inferior. In Lake Victoria especially, it does not always 200. I pay a fisherman to use best quality nets as there is a continual risk of their being stolen by "pirate" operators before they have been used to the limit of their useful life. Some fishermen are reputed to lose fishing nets worth Lak, many hundreds of pounds a year to these "pirates". 197. It is regrettable to have to record that the Mount Elgon Net Lake Victoril Works Ltd. closed down their factory at Endebess, near Kitale, early in (Uganda \\ Lake Edwarc 1957, owing to an inability to meet increasing competition from the Kazinga C Japanese. This company was the only local manufacturer of nets. It was Lake George established after the war, since when it had supplied most of its output to Lake Albert the Uganda market. Albert Nil 198. Figures obtained with the willing co-operation of all the Uganda Lake Kyoga importers show that imports of nets in 1956 totalled 162,714 compared with Victoria N 187,825 in 1955; most of the nets were again brought in by parcel post. Lake Nakiva The drop is accounted for by an increase in the proportion of nylon to Lake Kachir flax, from 19% of the total imports in 1955 to 67% in 1956. Nylon lasts Lake Kijane two or three times as long as flax and the number of nets required to catch Other lakes, an increased quantity of fish is therefore smaller. The number of small and rivers meshed nets is steadily increasing, from 38 % of total imports in 1953 to To 64 % in 1956, and illustrates the way in which the fishermen are beginning to exploit fish other than the Tilapia esculenta and T. nilotica which are -The t< . 38 es were amended f Butiaba island. taken in the five-inch net-originally the only net in common use. The break , seine-netting on down is as follows (in eaeh case, both here and in the remainder of the report, the mesh size is that of the stretched mesh: ) I, was destructive [) protect Butiaba ttions at Butiaba. ______s_:_'z_e_o-_f-_g_~l1ne~ __ ~=--=]~I~x =~~y:~~~~ vas amended to i No. No. 5" mesh (100 yds. X 26 meshes deep) i 5,124 53,201 ~ inches stretched 4f' mesh (100 yds. X 26 meshes deep) I 1,936 7,680 ~etails are given 4" mesh (100 yds. X 26 meshes deep) : 1,756 3,739 3!,' mesh (100 yds. X 26 meshes deep) I 866 3,560 'Ice. 3ft" mesh (100 yds. X 26 meshes deep) i 1,072 1,480 3" mesh ( 50 yds. X 26 meshes deep) 7,640 6,970 2!" mesh ( 50 yds. X 26 meshes deep) 34,495 29,786 2' mesh ( 50 yds. X 26 meshes deep) 192 2,600 1*" mesh ( 50 yds. x 26 meshes deep) 480 'FORMATION Large meshed nets 6" & 8" i8 14 -----~----- - _'_. - ----~ Seines-Ii" mesh (150 yds. X 200 meshes deep) I -_\~~t~~(in re in good supply I__ Nylon and other Twines I 6,000 lbs. of nylon that dealers had I aditional flax and ler cost. British 199. The wholesale value of fishing nets, ropes and twines was not ,e imports, which less than £200,000. In addition floats, hooks, outboard and inboard 1al import figures engines, paint for canoes and other accessories probably accounted for a further. £15,000 and sport fishing tackle £3,000. °%as compared rving to Japanese ts, although their Fish Supplies, Production, etc. does not always lual risk of their 200. Summary of Fish Production, 1956 used to the limit : I ,hing nets worth Pro- I Landed I Lake Area duction I value Where marketed (approx.) aunt Elgon Net sq. miles --1-:;;;;- --.!i -I Lake Victoria Kitale, early in (Uganda waters) 10,961 22,700 1,135,000 In vicinity of the Lake. titian from the Lake Edward and Kazinga Channel 235 3,700\ 170,000 of nets. It was 104 3,l00f Salted, smoked or' frozen to Lake George Belgian Congo, and East of its output to African markets. Lake Albert and Albert Nile 1,385 7,800 225,000 Mostly salted i1nd exported to ~ Belgian Cor1go; increasing all the Uganda quantiti"s to local markets. , compared with Lake Kyoga and Victoria Nile 880 5,000 175,000 Local markets. by parcel post. Lake Nakivali 10 480 14,500 To Belgian Congo and local on of nylon to markets. Lake Kachira 14 490 I 14,800 To Belgian Congo and local 6. Nylon lasts markets. ~quired to catch Lake Kijanebolola .. 27 880 26,400 To local markets. Other lakes, dams umber of small and rivers 79 800 28,000 orts in 1953 to TOTAL 13,695'" 44,950 1 n are beginning 1 ,788,700 otica which are "'The total area of Uganda including lakes is 93,981 sq. miles. 39 201. Overall production was 30% greater than in 1955. Increases from th~ occurred on all waters owing to the extended use of nylon nets which have £11,400 a greater catching power than those of flax, whilst on Lakes Albert, George, utilize 0 Edward and Victoria the powering of more canoes with outboard engines value of enabled new fishing grounds to be brought into production. for 1955 202. The rate of development during the last few years is shown by came 10 the fact that catches on the lakes under the control of this Department, i.e. and a nt all except Lake Victoria, have increased from 13,400 tons in 1952 to 22,250 Albert 1 tons in 1956.