Fisheries limit new licensing

The Mozambican Ministry of the Sea, Inland Waters and Fisheries has decided to limit new fishing licenses, in an attempt to curb biodiversity devastation by illegal fisherman at the Cahora Bassa reservoir, in the central province of Tete, according to a report in Saturday’s issue of the Maputo daily “Noticias”. The Ministry’s Director of Operations, Leonid Chimarizene, said that despite the efforts to combat fishing by illegal operators, the situation has spiked over the last few years. The authorities want to halt the threat and ensure a sound and healthy growth of the fish species.

The move, however, has unleashed an increase of illegal fishermen who also resort to harmful fishing gear, including mosquito nets which sweep away the larvae and juveniles, thus jeopardising the continuity of the species. (The main target species is the Lake Tanganyika sardine, known in Mozambique as “kapenta”). A joint operation carried out by the Ministry, the Tete Provincial Economic Activities Services, the Maritime Administration, and the coastal and inland water guards not only led to the arrest of illegal fishermen but seized three semi-industrial fishing vessels and 216 mosquito nets.

“Such practices represent a great risk for the communities who may not have fish in the future for their sustenance, and also pose an environmental and economic threat,” Chimarizene cautioned, adding that unspecified quantities of juveniles have been returned to the water, and fines of over two million meticais (about 31,000 US dollars, at the current exchange rate) have been imposed. And in order to keep full control of the situation, authorities have declared “closed fishing”, which consists of allowing only a limited number of vessels onto the lake. The authorities will conduct further joint operations and cooperate with other entities at places such as markets and transit points, especially airports and land borders.Illegal fishing is a well known problem at Cahora Bassa reservoir and in 2016/17 the authorities seized 70 vessels which are now for sale at public auction.