Concern as fish catches fall in Lake Victoria

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Annastazia Fredy

Mwanza. Dwindling fish population in Lake Victoria, which has dropped by about 30 per cent, has continued to pile miseries in sales of processed fish fillet from 44,423 tonnes in 2012 to 42,827 tonnes at the end of 2013.

A report on economic performance for the Lake Zone’s major produce released by an economist with the Bank of Tanzania (BoT), Mr Musa Mziya, shows that an 11 per cent drop in revenue garnered from processed fish fillet was mostly attributed to the dwindling fish population in Lake Victoria as well as illegal fishing practices and environmental degradation.

Data from the zone’s fish processing firms shows that they reaped Sh200.3 million in 2011/2012 when a kilo of fish fillet was sold at Sh4,500.

“The price increased due to the market demand, implicated by an acute shortage of fish in various areas across the zone,” he said.

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