The crackdown on illegal fishing practices by the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) has pushed residents of Butende Village, Ibulanku Sub-county in Iganga District to swamps to eke a living through catching mudfish.
When Daily Monitor visited the village last week, a group of residents were at Nawanga Swamp searching for the fish.
Mr Charles Nsubuga, a resident, says they were initially fishermen operating on Lake Victoria, but abandoned the lake following the UPDF clampdown on their activities.
I was operating from there (Nakalanga Fish Landing Site in Mayuge District), but the army accused us of using undersized nets, chased us and closed the landing site. Our boats and nets were burnt and it was from there that I joined this team, the 46-year-old says.
Last year, President Museveni ordered the army to get rid of illegal fishing on lakes and rivers across the country.
The UPDF, under Maj James Nuwagaba, have been working jointly with the Fisheries Department, Uganda Revenue Authority, fish processors and police to stop illegal activities on the lakes.
More than a year into the operation now, fishing nets and boats worth billions of shillings have been burnt and culprits prosecuted.
Mr Nsubuga says mudfish generates some income to support his family.On a good day, I can earn between Shs20,000 and Shs40,000, he says, adding that whereas he does not earn as much as he used to get from the lake, he is satisfied with the fact he has an income-generating venture.
Mr Baite Bwogere, 48, another member, says by the time they started out, they did not know the activity would fetch them money.
On the first day, we visited a swamp at Nawasenga Village but only managed to get a few fish for home consumption; but as we were in the swamp, a man taught us better tactics of catching mudfish and since then, we have never looked back, Mr Bwogere says.
He says the group moves around villages in Busoga sub-region looking for swamps with the fish.
We move as a team and where we find resistance – mainly from rice farmers – we give them some money. This is a far better paying job compared to fishing on the lake, Mr Asan Mwonda, another fisherman, says.
The group says the extraction of the fish involves draining all the water from the swamp using jerry cans which takes them about two to three days depending on the level of water and the size of the area where they want to fish.
It is when all the water is drained and the fish is exposed that we are able to have a big catch, Mr Mwonda says.
The group has basins and plastic tanks containing water in which they place the fish to keep it alive and fresh before it is dispatched to the market for sale.
Mr Noah Mande, who initiated the project and is also a buyer, says for every 100 fish caught, he pays Shs10,000, adding that the fish is then transported to different parts in Iganga, Mayuge, Bugiri and Kamuli districts where it is sold in kilogrammes and heaps.
We have many customers because our fish is cheap and the customers claim that they cannot afford tilapia and other fish species whose prices are high. A kilogramme of mud fish goes for Shs6,000, which is lower than a kilogramme of tilapia which is sold between Shs10,000 and Shs11,000 in Iganga Town, Mr Mande says.
The fishermen are occasionally bitten by snakes. It is also tiresome to wipe out water from the swamp considering that sometimes we are forced to spend cold nights out catching the fish, they say.
The LC3 chairperson, Mr Ayub Kyozira, lauds the fishermen for coming up with such an income-generating venture and urges other residents to use the water from the swamps to lay bricks.
I am happy to see that instead of complaining of poverty, you are using the swamps to get money, Mr Kyozila says.
Nation Media Group