EAC now eyes promoting aquaculture even as fish in Lake Victoria surges

The East African Community is now eyeing at promoting aquaculture in the region to boost food security and export earnings even as fish in Lake Victoria starts to increase.

EAC’s Deputy Secretary General Jessica Eriyo said the secretariat is developing a programme that will encourage farmers in the region embrace fish farming.

“So far, we have brought together experts on aquaculture across the region and development partners including Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency to look at the opportunities, challenges and to come up with some measures to address those challenges,” Ms. Eriyo said.

Ms. Eriyo said the secretariat has met twice with the stakeholders to work on the programme expected to be rolled out next year.

Ms. Eriyo said the new progamme is expected to boost the region’s export fish earnings given that the demand for fish within and outside the region especially Europe continues to grow.

Aquaculture, which involves cultivating fresh water and saltwater populations of fish under controlled conditions as opposed to catching fish in the wild, is one of the world’s fastest growing sources of animal protein, projected to raise 33 percent over by 2020, to reach to 79 million tonnes, says Food and Agricultural Organisation report 2012 on the State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture.

EAC states exports most of its fish to Italy, Lebanon, Jordan, Belgium, Netherlands, United Arab Emirates, Spain, Greece, and France. Other importers includes; Turkey, China, Australia, Hong Kong, Egypt, and the United States of America.

Dr. Oliva Mkumbo, the programme's focal person at the Jinja –based Lake Victoria Fisheries Organisation (LVFO) told The EastAfrican that whereas fishing sector in Lake Victoria is showing signs of recovery, a lot is still needed to curb illegal fishing especially of Nile Perch as well as promote aquaculture in the region.

 “There’s a sign of recovery but not that significant,” Dr. Mkumbo said, adding that not only illegal fishing is hampering the growth of the region’s fishing  sector  but also those using illegal fishing gears.

LVFO data shows that fish export earnings from three East African Countries-Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania- registered a 17 per cent growth in earnings in 2012 citing strict measure to curb illegal fishing and high prices at the international market.

 However, LVFO and fish exporters and exporters in the region could not state changes in prices on the international market due to continued price fluctuations on different markets.

The region exported 74,540 tonnes last year worth $340.7 million compared with 56, 040 tonnes worth $291 million exported in 2011.

In spite of the continued growth trend of the region’s fish export earnings between 1992 and 1998, the sector has since then undergone numerous challenges including illegal fishing and market shocks that have continued to affect the region’s export earnings.

For instance, the region’s fish export earnings declined from $ 130.6 million in 1998 to $ 122.7 million in 1999 when the European Union banned fresh fish imports from eastern Africa because of the cholera epidemic that hit Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. The export volumes also declined from 61, 900 tonnes in 1998 to 49,600 tonnes in 1999.

And between 2008 and   2011, the regions export volumes as well as earnings also decline tremendously from 71.700 tonnes worth $ 323.4million to merely 56,000tonnes worth $ 291 million due to illegal fishing and the effects of the euro-crisis.

The effects of the 2008 global financial crisis led to a decline in demand for fish in Europe in as countries tried to put in measures to meet the rising cost of living.

This year, the total world’s fish production, according to FAO, is projected to reach over 160 million tonnes.

Fish production is projected to reach 161.2 million tonnes by the close of 2013, showing a 2.9 per cent growth compared with 2012 whereas the value of exports is expected to grow by two per cent to $ 130.8billion.