Reports Leo Odera Omolo In Kisumu City.
Fish stocks in Lake Victoria are being plundered at an alarming rate and it has been revealed by experts that by the year 2048 there would be a major loss of fish resources in the lake.
These were the views of the Co-coordinator of the African for the Construction Resolution of Dispute {ACCORD} Tanzania Donald Kasongi who called for urgent steps to be take to save the remaining fish species in the lake.
A recent study by Accord Tanzania that the economically prized Nile Perch stocks went down from 750,000 tones in 2005 to 337,000 tones in 2008,Tilapia stocks also dropped from 27,000 051 tones to 24,811 tones in 2010.
“There is increasing fish and environmental pollution in Lake Victoria. If it is not managed well, there will be over-fishing depletion of resources and loss of socio-economic benefits, ”said Kasongi.
The Lake Victoria Basin has an estimated population of slightly over 30 million, and under the East African Cooperation Treaty, the Lake Victoria basin has been categorized as an economic growth zone.
Available investment opportunities include agriculture and livestock, trade and commerce, fishing mining, wildlife and tourism. Others are hydropower generation, infrastructure development, human resources development, industries, research and technology.
Meanwhile Lake Victoria Basin Commission plans to establish a reliable rescue service to reduce the number of accidental deaths in the lake.
The rescue service is part of the USD 20 million meant for Maritime Commission for Safety on Lake Victoria project and will be established in collaboration with the East African Community member states of Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi.
“‘Despite numerous benefits like and income we are generating from Lake Victoria fishing, we are also losing around 5,000 people a year in marine accidents,” said the new Executive Secretary of the Lake Basin Commission Dr Christian Kanangire.
Abrupt change of weather, poor communication, unreliable rescue services, overloading and malfunctioning vessels are among, the reasons behind the increased.
Dr Kanangire said the project funded by the African Development Bank {AfDB}, will see the maritime rescue coordination centre put in place in the Lakeside City of Mwanza, Tanzania.
There will be 16 other centers across the Africa’s largest water marsh and mobile communication coverage will be extended up to 80 kilometers of fishing zones.
Dr Kanangire the Commission was in tentative talks with Turkish investors over investment in Lake Victoria marine transport.
The project is expected to improve security in the lake as well as provide affordable communications to communities living on the numerous fishing islands within the lake.
A pre-investment study has been concluded with the support from the AfDB and the International Telecommunication Union.
On pollution, the Executive Secretary expressed concern over the possible extinction of species fish due to industrial wastes. Studies indicate that pollution and environmental degradation have led to the extinction of more than 100 fish species in the past four decades.
Ends