Abstract:

Uganda as the current chair of the Lake Victoria Fisheries Resources Organization needs to ensure that all agreed Council of Ministers' Directives and agreed management measures are implemented to stem the deteriorating fisheries of Lake Victoria. Research was done to assess the dissemination and implementation by the Fisheries Department, Local Governments and Beach Management Units and the awareness, acceptance and compliance among fishers to the CoM Directives on management of Lake Victoria fisheries. Conducted by the National Fisheries Resources Research Institute (NaFIRRI), the research focused on the implementation and effectiveness of measures following the LVFO Council of Ministers (CoM) Directives for improved management of the fisheries of Lake Victoria, with particular reference to the 2009 CoM Directives as a case study, it was established that many of the Directives have not been implemented. In cases where the directives were implemented; their effectiveness remains questionable. While steps were taken to disseminate and implement the Directives, there were some challenges, including the unclear legal status of the Directives, limited dissemination materials and poor methods of dissemination, language barriers and inadequate resources for enforcement. Fishers were aware of and willing to accept most of the 2009 CoM Directives. However, raising of the minimum legal mesh size to 7 inches from the current 5 inches for Nile Perch fishery; restriction on the use of hoots size range from 4 to 9 for Nile perch and the 10 mm minimum mesh size nets for mukene/daaga fishery were considered difficult to accept. This was attributed to the low catch ability of the minimum meshes recommended and that the 10mm dagaa nets were not even available on the Ugandan market. In order to improve effectiveness of LVFO CoM Directives, the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) need to ensure that CoM Directives are ratified by Parliament, adequate budgets provided for them, the fill District Security Teams are involved in enforcement and there is co-ordination by Districts in enforcement.