There are serious and widespread concerns that the uncontrolled plunder of fish on the Namibian side of the Zambezi and in Lake Liambezi in particular by hordes of foreign fishermen could deplete the fishery resource. Inhabitants of the region complain that foreign fishermen have crowded Lake Liambezi, 68 kilometres east of Katima Mulilo, and that they have even found new fishing grounds to continue their unscrupulous activities at places such as Liashulu, Lusu and Zilitene although their numbers in those areas are said to be negligible. Information revealed to New Era also indicates that locals are offered thousands of dollars to conceal the illicit, but highly lucrative operations. Foreign fishermen are further said to be selling their catches directly to locals at exorbitant prices. According to statistics provided to New Era by the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, between 300 to 400 illegal foreign fishermen were deported last year during joint operations with law enforcement agencies, but the problem of illegal fishing persists. Given the gravity of the problem some people fear that the fish resources available, particularly in Lake Liambezi may soon become depleted as has been the case on some lakes and rivers in Africa. Dorothy Kabula, a former councillor of the Linyanti constituency who travelled to Lake Liambezi last week in search of fish said she was shocked to discover that many foreign fishermen inhabit the inland lake to plunder the country’s resources without any action being taken by immigration officials. “There’s a very big loophole at Lake Liambezi. Most people I found there are non-Namibians. They have big containers filled up with freshwater fish that they sell directly to the locals. How can foreign people just come from their country and start fishing in our rivers? Because of this loophole, many foreign nationals are coming in every day. I bought fish last week. Money that these people generate goes directly to their own country at the expense of unemployed locals,” Kabula complained bitterly.
According to her, markets such as Kasumbalesa, a border town located between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Zambia where demand for Namibian fish is said to be very high, is fuelling the exploitation of fish resources by foreign fishermen from those countries who enter Namibia under the pretext of visiting only to engage in the illegal plunder of freshwater fish. She said existing laws are not enforced by the authorities or they are too lenient resulting in the current predicament. “Our fish here goes to Kasumbalesa. That’s where the money is. It would be better if they at least buy fish from us. At the end of the day Lake Liambezi will have no fish. Our authorities are only bothering our local people here demanding fish permits, but do nothing to illegal foreign fishermen. It’s very painful. We are promoting poverty among our people,” she charged.
However, Damian Nchindo, senior fisheries biologist in the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources who did not rule out the possibility of foreign fishermen at Lake Liambezi and elsewhere said even though the ministry conducts regular monitoring of rivers, his office has not received any such concerns from the public and that a follow-up will be made very soon to ascertain the validity of the claims. “We have not received that information. We do monitoring all the time checking particularly for fishing permits and nets used. We have this problem of locals harbouring foreign fishermen and sometimes it’s very difficult for us to find these people. We will make follow-ups very soon,” promised Nchindo. According to him even though operations have been conducted before to root out out illegal foreign fishermen, stakeholder involvement and teamwork is imperative for the success of such operations. “Stakeholder involvement and cooperation is important. Like with us, we just monitor if these people have fishing permits. Immigration also does their part by arresting culprits according to the immigration laws or charge them. Most of the time these people are just deported and end up coming back again and again, because they are not given any penalties,” stressed Nchindo. He further said, the Ministry of Fisheries has gone to the extent of forming fishing committees in areas adjacent to rivers, but these have been rendered toothless because they lack legal powers. “We have fishing committees that help us to monitor and report any unscrupulous fishing activities, but these committees lack power. Some of the fishing committees particularly those in conservancy areas are making an effort. Maybe if we legalise these committees it would help,” stressed the fisheries official. As part of its sensitisation efforts, the fisheries ministry also plans on inviting their Zambian counterparts since the majority of illegal foreign fishermen are suspected to come from that country, according to Nchindo. “We plan on inviting Zambian fisheries officials to accompany us to the lake to see how our resources are being plundered by their nationals,” he said.
Katima Rural constituency councillor Warden Simushi said he has made illegal fishing one of his priorities this year, adding that he would leave no stone unturned and that the law will not be discriminatory, since locals are said to be involved in the harbouring of illegal foreign fishermen. “I have heard of locals harbouring foreigners particularly at Muyako. I am busy making arrangements to root out that problem. I even heard that foreigners come with large sums of money that they pay to locals for them to conceal their activities and to be allocated fishing areas on the island. We must also charge and fine people who are harbouring foreigners. That is what we are going to do to flush out these illegal activities,” warned Simushi. According to Simushi fishing committees seem not to work, because of pressure from the communities themselves. “Fishing committees were elected by the community. The same community is now giving pressure to these committees and they are no longer performing their duties as they should,” he said. Zambezi Police Regional Police Commander, Commissioner Bollen Sankwasa, who is also unhappy about the alleged plunder, bemoaned the lack of cooperation between stakeholders saying it is the main impediment to the success of joint operations. “We lack cooperation or if it’s there it should be revisited. Our main focus as the police is just to enforce the law, the rest is up to the other parties to do. Acts are there. But if they don’t give penalties to the culprits, this problem will be repetitive. We already had three operations last year. Again our own people are the ones hiding these foreigners. These days they even announce on radio that they want fishermen. People from DRC or Zambia cannot know where Lake Liambezi is. It is our own people who bring them. We must know this resource is not for one person, it’s for the entire country,” he said. Lake Liambezi, which is fed from the Zambezi River and known for its abundant fish resources, is often a hotbed for illegal fishing. Many joint police and fisheries operations against illegal fishing activities at the lake have been conducted in the past, but the problem refuses to go away. Towards the end of last year in one such operations, nine foreign nationals, two Angolans and seven Zambians were arrested at Lake Liambezi in a joint operation that also targeted poachers. What makes foreign fishermen elude authorities easily is the number of small islands that are dotted all over the lake making them hard to detect, except by helicopter patrols. Culprits often erect makeshift shelters and camp on the islands for days.
The Zambezi region is popular for its freshwater fish, particularly Tilapia but prices at the local market have also soared of late with some residents attributing the increase to foreign fishermen who are said to be selling fish at much higher prices. Fish is the best and most readily available nutritional option for the majority of people in the region who cannot afford the exorbitant price of beef. Many people in the region also eke out a living from catching and selling fish.
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