MOYO DISTRICT FISHERIES CONDITIONS AND PROSPECTS
Notes on Trip of 30th August 1989

1. BACKGROUND

E.J. Coenen (Project CTA), F.L. Orach-Meza (Deputy Commissioner for Fisheries and National Project Director, and J.E. Reynolds (Project Socio-Economic Advisor) travelled by air to Moyo District on a day mission to review the current state of the fisheries and identify priority areas for development action. The trip was made at the request of Mr. Mohammed Yusuf Abdalla, Regional Director, Islamic African Relief Agency (IARA), as endorsed by Mr. A.A. Khalil, FAO Representative Kampala. Mr. Abdalla accompanied the team along with Mr. A.L. Olul, Principal Assistant Secretary and Regional Relief Co-ordinator (West Nile), Ministry of Rehabilitation. Upon arrival at Moyo Town, the team participated in a meeting attended by local Resistance Committee members, Government officers, and IARA representatives. The meeting was chaired by the Moyo District Administrator, Mr. Paul Kakonge. After briefing and discussion, the team briefly visited the Moyo fish market before travelling to the River Nile at Laropi Landing, where boatbuilders, net weavers, fishermen, and traders were interviewed. The river was then crossed by ferry and the onward journey completed to Adjumani, where the plane had been sent to pick up the team for the return trip to Entebbe Airport. A complete itinerary and list of persons met is provided in Annex 1.

2. DEVELOPMENTS IN THE MOYO FISHERIES

2.1 Past Developments

The fisheries of Moyo and the other West Nile Region Districts of Arua and Nebbi are based on exploitation of the Albert Nile, which flows from Lake Albert along a generally northeasterly course of some 200 kms into Sudan at the Nimule border post (see map, Fig. 1, Annex 2). The river along this stretch is over 5 km wide in places, and consists of a main channel and extensive fringe lakes and sudd, with numerous interconnecting water courses that weave in constantly shifting patterns between silt banks and papyrus islands. The extent to which the floodplain is covered over with water depends on the season, but at all times there is a considerable amount of fishable area available. Indeed, given its wide and relatively slow passage through the region, it is easy to imagine the Albert Nile more as a long complex of lake and swamp rather than a straightforward river.

The total potentially fishable surface could exceed 400 km², or an area that is substantially larger than either that of Lake George or Lake Wamala, both of which host major mixed fisheries.

A fairly wide array of species are to be found in the Albert Nile, providing an ample resource for both subsistence and commercial exploitation. The stock assemblage includes, amongst others, species of Lates, Oreochromis, Tilapia, Protopterus, Mormyrus, Hydrocynus, Alestes, Distichodus, Citharinus, Labeo, Barbus, Bagrus, Synodontis, Clarias, Schilbe, Polypterus, and Auchenoglanis.

Although subsistence fishing in the area has been practised since antiquity, it was not until the first decades of this century that production began to develop a commercial character on the Albert Nile, with the introduction of synthetic gillnets and larger, safer craft to replace the traditional dugout canoe. During the 1960s and 1970s, the last period for which consistent Fisheries Department records exist, the entire Albert Nile fishery north of Pakwach produced yields of some 1000 to 2000 or more tonnes per annum, and thus represented an important source of animal protein for both the West Nile and Gulu Regions. Even so, it is doubtful that the fishery was being exploited at anywhere near its true potential during this period. Much of the fishing, particularly in the more remote section of the river downstream of Rhino Camp, continued to be conducted on a very minor or subsistence scale due to general lack of gear and larger craft to provide access to more fishing grounds, and poor communications and marketing infrastructure. The statistical record for these upper waters is less reliable, but it has been estimated that production ranged from around 500 tonnes (mid-1960s) to more than 1000 tonnes (mid-1970s).

With the onset of civil strife and widespread economic disruption from the late 1970s, the entire country went into a prolonged period of decline from which it has yet to recover. As with other sectors of the economy, the effects on the fishing industry were extremely adverse. Nowhere were these effects so pronounced as in the West Nile Region, and in Moyo District in particular. The development of the fisheries there did not just stagnate or decline somewhat, but actually retrogressed to an alarming degree.

Repeated episodes of military occupation, banditry, and population displacement so disrupted life over the years from 1979 through 1987 that wide areas became almost totally abandoned and food production activity came to a complete standstill. Almost all of Moyo District was deserted of population. With the pacification of the area in recent years, and as a result of combined Government and UNHCR efforts to repatriate those who fled from the earlier troubles, some 150,000 people have now resettled in Moyo District. Various relief agencies have provided substantial food aid and reconstruction assistance to the area over the last few years; and this charity has been absolutely crucial to the restoration of community life. It is recognised, however, that urgent measures are now required to restore the basic food production capabilites of the District to the old level of self-sufficiency, so that residents will no longer have to depend on outside contributions and will be able to resume normal and constructive lives.

The fisheries sector offers perhaps the best opportunities for immediate undertakings to rehabilitate food production in Moyo and the other West Nile Districts. Unlike the crop and livestock sectors, no long lead times are required for the provision and preparation of production factors (seed, breeding stock, land, and other inputs), or the eventual utilisation of yields. The resource base of the Albert Nile is instantly available and indeed is again being exploited to some extent already. The rather low level of current production could be quickly and considerably enhanced, however, with the provision of a few basic and readily deliverable inputs of gear and management advice.

2.2 Current Conditions and Prospects

With the repatriation since 1985 of refugees who fled into neighbouring Sudan and elsewhere to escape the disturbances that began in 1979, Moyo District is in the process of slowly rebuilding itself. Evidence of this gradual return to peace is apparent in the many new houses that have been erected, the re-opening of land for the cultivation of such crops as millet, sorghum, maize, rice, simsim, groundnuts, cassava, sweet potatoes, bananas, and vegetables like beans, okra, onions, tomatoes, and assorted greens. Restocking of animals is also occurring, although this will be a much longer term undertaking since the district herd was all but eliminated through slaughter or removal during the years of strife.

Fishing is one sector that has shown an especially rapid recovery in the last few years, despite a crippling lack of inputs and the absence of suitable water-craft. Fish from the Albert Nile has always been in high demand in the District, but it quickly became the animal protein mainstay for people as they began to resettle their local communities. Even now it is about the only animal protein source available in significant quantity and at reasonable cost in many local marketplaces. In Moyo and Adjumani towns, the two major markets for fish in the District, there is an extremely lively trade in both fresh and processed catches from the river. Consignments are delivered every day to these markets from the landings of Laropi, Palorinya, Obongi, Liri, Ara, Pamujua, Magburu, and other more minor sites by scores of petty traders who carry their loads by foot or on bicycles. Two major refugee camps set up by the UNHCR in East Moyo County, which together host some 30,000 people displaced by the civil war in Sudan, are also receiving heavy volumes of fish from the river (particularly from the Ara Landing).

At Moyo Town, the mission team was able to briefly survey the activity of fish traders at the market around midday. Some 10 traders had already arrived by bicycle with loads of fish from Laropi Landing, a distance of about 27 km over a rough and steep road leading up the escarpment above the river. It was learned that there are around 25 bicycle traders who regularly bring fresh fish from Laropi and Palorinya (another landing approximately 19 km away from Moyo) to sell at the market, in loads estimated to be some 20 kg. each. Species being offered for sale at the time of visit included those of the following genera: Oreochromis (=Tilapia), Labeo, Distichodus, Citharinus, Bagrus, Clarias, Momyrus, Protopterus, and Lates. There were fair numbers of each kind of fish, though the tilapias appeared to be most numerous. Prices were fixed according to standard units (e.g. five tilapia for UShs 100/-) and were being charged in a uniform fashion, indicating that the traders felt no need to compete between themselves by bargaining with individual customers. A breakdown of Loropi Landing (“wholesale”) versus Moyo Market (“retail”) prices is given in Table 1 of Annex 3. Indicative average prices at selected landing beaches and markets in East Moyo County for the month of July 1989, as reported by the local Fisheries Department staff, are apparently somewhat lower than those prevailing in West Moyo (Table 1).

Further evidence of the relative effectiveness (under prevailing road and transport availability conditions) of current fish distribution systems in the District was witnessed by the team on the road between Moyo Town and Laropi Landing. At least twenty traders were encountered carrying small consignments of fish up the steep way over the escarpment from the river, including men on bicycles, women with headloads, and teams of young boys walking in pairs, each pair shouldering a sling of fish bundles tied on a short pole. Pausing to speak with two of these young entrepreneurs, the team learned that they had paid UShs 500/- at Laropi for the 100 very small tilapia tied in bundles of ten and suspended on their pole. With an intuitive appreciation of the principles of supply and demand, they reported that they were taking their fish to “a place where the Nile is far”, and were hoping to sell the load for twice the price they paid for it. Although only very modest amounts of fish can be carried by the trader on any one trip, there are many such traders at work. The collective result of their efforts is the distribution of considerable quantities of high quality protein for sale or, as is perhaps more often the case in this region where both cash and merchandise are rather scarce, for barter with other foodstuffs. Their loads of fish are not only destined for the Moyo market, but for small settlements along the way and homesteads scattered through the hills and valleys. By bicycle or foot, fish from the river is obviously penetrating well into the interior of the district.

Just outside of Laropi, a group of men were encountered building a canoe under a tree, in the compound of one of the local fishermen. Fishing craft are in extremely short supply throughout the West Nile Region following the recent period of looting and disturbance. Many canoes were taken by fleeing soldiers. Others were used by local people seeking to escape the troubles by taking refuge in Sudan. Once they passed below the cataract at Nimule on the border, these craft could no longer be retrieved upriver. They thus remain lost to the Moyo fishery.

The carpenter supervising construction of the canoe seen at Laropi claimed that he had built a total of 16 similar craft over the last two years. These are all of planked design, some 7.5m in length and 1+m in beam, and made of mvule timber. Such timber is available only in very limited supply locally, so that in most cases it has to be imported from the south, through Masindi. The canoe under construction was said to cost UShs 100,000/-. Although the builder was confident that his work would prove durable and, with a coat of paint, watertight, it appeared that was room for considerable improvement (e.g., use of glue for sealing joints, better framing techniques, and less reliance on iron nails). For all its shortcomings, however, this type of canoe is far superior to the small and dangerous traditional dugouts to which local fishermen have increasingly resorted since the loss of most of their craft below Nimule. Because of their low freeboard and inherent instability and clumsiness, the dugouts are only operated close inshore and never venture very far from the landings. Their limited operating range coupled with the fact that they can only carry a few nets makes them highly inefficient as fishing platforms.

A further major constraint that is seriously impeding the development of the Moyo area fisheries to their full potential is the almost total lack of appropriate nets. Reportedly, the only new netting materials available since the resettlement of the District two years ago have been the limited quantities supplied by a NGO relief agency, the Lutheran World Fund. With suitable input supplies scarce and difficult to obtain, local fisherfolk have been forced to fabricate their own gear, in the form of cast nets and beach seines. The team actually saw one beach seine of about 75m being made at the canoe construction site close to Laropi, and was told that three other seines are already in operation. Several fishing teams were also seen returning from the landing site with their catches and castnets. Both castnets and seines are very effective as fish capture gear. For example, two of the fishermen interviewed at the landing were just returning from the river with an estimated 30+ kg catch of tilapia, captured through a few hours' work with a castnet earlier in the morning. As for beach seines, they can easily net hundreds of kilos of fish in one haul. The trouble with both these types of gear is that they are too effective. Because they drag out anything and everything with their small mesh size and mode of operation, they are highly destructive to fish stocks and breeding grounds.

It is possible that these destructive effects have not yet become very severe along this stretch of the Albert Nile. Indeed, since the stocks were barely being exploited for some years until just recently, it may be that in some localities and for some species stunting began to occur as fish stocks overpopulated their food bases. The existence of sexually mature but undersized tilapia has been reported by local fishermen as well as Fisheries Assistants. Such fish are locally categorised as pue, a general designation that implies being “fully equipped” in certain basic ways but underdeveloped (young, small, or inexperienced) in others. Although virtually all the tilapia and many of the other species of fish seen were of relatively small size, it was not possible immediately to determine what proportion were of the pue variety or were simply juvenile specimens captured by the fine meshed nets.

In any event, it is certain that pressures on the inshore stocks will increase with the renewed fishing activity and the use of seines and castnets. The situation of relative stock abundance could thus quickly reverse itself as juvenile fish are harvested and breeding grounds are damaged. In the meantime, the lack of suitable gear and craft is preventing fishermen from exploiting those waters which can produce larger specimens of such fish as Lates (the Nile perch), Protopterus (lungfish), and Bagrus (a variety of catfish). That these larger specimens exist is well known from past experience, and because some are currently being caught on occasion with longlines set close to shore.

Laropi trading centre is situated about a kilometre back from the river, and consists of a handful of dilapidated shops and Government staff quarters. Two Fisheries Assistants remain on post here, but have nothing in the way of either housing or office facilities. Before the recent troubles the sub-station staff had several sheet metal “uniport” housing units and were equipped with a Land Rover, an outboard powered canoe, weighing scales, and other basic facilities to enable them to conduct their work. All of these items have been looted. The Land Rover was hijacked by gunmen who murdered the driver. Some of the staff found the situation so dangerous that they fled into exile, and are only just now reporting back to their postings. Before the upheavals started, work had begun on a combination Fisheries Department office and AFDOs residence at Laropi. The work was subsequently abandoned and partially looted, but it appears that the building could be completed without undue difficulty or great expense. The roof is still intact and it would only take the installation of doors and windows, some plastering of the walls, a little paint, and a few other minor additions to make the structure habitable.

By the time the team arrived at Laropi landing at around 1500 hours, the teams of fishermen were winding up their day's work -- stowing gear, sharing out fish and preparing bundles for sale, just relaxing, or starting on their ways home. Some half dozen or so small dugout canoes were observed moored in a marshy pool to the side of the ferry ramp, but no larger planked canoes were in evidence. The landing has no facilities for fish offloading, receiving, cleaning, or selling. The only structure is a rather run-down looking office and waiting station for the ferry

As a crossing point for vehicles and passengers on the Moyo - Adjumani road, Laropi remains a fairly active place throughout the day. People assemble to wait for the next run of the boat, and engage in petty trading of fresh and smoked fish and other produce. The same is true of the ferry landing on the other or Adjumani side of the river. This is reached after about a twenty minute crossing, which can be greatly delayed if floating papyrus islands come sailing downstream and lodge themselves in front of the loading slip. These floating islands are a common occurrence, and pose a nuisance for both ferry crew and fishermen. The ferry crew must expend considerable effort pushing the islands out of the way or breaking them up with long poles. Fishermen regularly lose their nets and longlines to the islands since gear becomes entangled and gets swept away.

Although the Adjumani side has no fish landing site or settlement as such, people come to meet the ferry and to engage in minor trading, or to seek refreshment at the one amenity that does exist -- the “Nile Perch Hottel”. The road from the landing leads on to Adjumani Town about 20 km distant, across a broad and flat plain where people are beginning to cultivate such crops as cassava and millet again, and to rebuild their houses. Because the team was pressed for time, and could not further delay the return flight to Entebbe as it was growing late in the afternoon, there was no chance to visit the Adjumani market. It was obvious however from a passing glance at the crowds of fishmongers and customers that the trade in fish both fresh and smoked fish there is extremely active. In an effort to restore the monitoring and reporting system, the FA who is acting in charge at Laropi sub-station (pending the return of other staff) has initiated a brief survey of East Moyo landings and markets. He reports however that lack of transport and accomodation allowance makes operations very difficult.

3. GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS

The fisheries of Moyo are making an extremely critical contribution to the food security situation in the District during the current period of resettlement and recovery. Fish from the river are the only regularly available source of animal protein for local residents, who otherwise depend heavily on the assistance of relief agencies for the provision of basic needs. Efforts to rehabilitate agricultural and livestock production to regain a situation of food self-sufficiency are being mounted, but will require some years to yield significant returns. In the meantime, much could be done to enhance the role of fisheries in fostering nutritional and economic well-being.

The resource base of the Albert Nile has scarcely been exploited for some years due to the prolonged period of civil strife with resulting loss of productive equipment and exile of operators. Whilst the generally improved level of civil security and the repatriation of local residents has led to a renewal of activity, fisherfolk are severely hampered by a shortage of gear and craft. One consequence of this has been a rapid increase in the use of illegal and highly destructive beach seines and castnets. Another consequence is that operators are very limited in terms of access to fishable waters. If this situation continues unchecked, it is likely that localised reversals will occur in the balance of fish stocks, from a state of substantial abundance to one of serious depletion. On the other hand, should appropriate corrective input supply and management measures be taken forthwith, the fishery could be brought to to perform at a much higher and more sustainable level of productivity.

3.1   As an immediate first step towards this end, it is recommended that the Islamic African Relief Agency (IARA) formulate a small assistance package for the fisheries of the Moyo District stretch of the Albert Nile. IARA funding for further phases of work could be provided following evaluation of the effectiveness of the first phase undertakings. The present team stands ready to help in this activity with advice on work programme details and participation in further field assessment and identification missions.

3.2    If assistance can be provided, it is suggested that a document which spells out the details of the package and the schedule of activities be prepared by IARA for submission to the Ministry of Animal Industries and Fisheries, so that arrangements may be formalised.

3.3    Initial funding priority should be given to the provision of basic inputs such as gillnets (4"+ mesh size), twines, and hooks, and to the construction of a number of safe and durable fishing canoes which could serve as models for local artisans to emulate. It is suggested that these inputs be made available on a revolving loan fund basis, to be administered through local co-operative organisations. The latter would themselves be established through encouragement by the project.

3.4    In order for local Fisheries Department staff to more effectively perform their monitoring and extension work, and also to assist with the distribution of inputs and organisation of local co-operatives, it is urged that part of the assistance package be used to rehabilitate office and housing facilities at Laropi landing.

3.5    To alleviate the severe transport problem, bicycles should also be provided to Fisheries staff and, again on a revolving fund basis, to members of local fishing/trading vocational co-operative groups.

3.6    Finally, it is suggested that the package include provision for the construction and initial operation of demonstration fish smoking kilns. The simple pit kiln method of curing now being used locally is very wasteful of scarce fuelwood supplies, and this problem could become more acute with any increased production from the harvest sector resulting from greater availability of gear (input supply) and access to wider fishing areas (craft development).

3.7    A proposed budget for this first urgent phase of work is provided in Annex 4.

3.8    Although it was only possible to visit a limited area of Moyo District during the day mission described in this report, the team is well aware that the problems of civil strife, population displacement, and socio-economic disruption which have beset this area are common to the entire West Nile Region. Local communities in Arua and Nebbi Districts have also suffered heavily over the last decade. Officials in the Ministry of Rehabilitation reckon that some 200,000 residents of these districts fled into adjoining areas of Zaire and Sudan during this period. As in the case of Moyo, these refugees are only now being repatriated and resettled.

3.9    Likewise, the process of rebuilding food production capabilities in various areas of Arua and Nebbi is only getting underway, with much reliance still being placed on emergency relief supplies from international agencies. Just as in Moyo, the Albert Nile is fulfilling a crucial role as provider of food in these areas.

3.10 In a fashion similar to the Moyo experience as well, even though the Arua/Nebbi fisheries provide an excellent and immediate means to facilitate the restoration of food security, their effective development is hindered by lack of basic inputs and services in all dimensions -- harvest, processing, distribution, trade, and administration.

3.11 The Albert Nile fisheries indeed share a common set of potentialities and constraints along their entire reach through the three districts of West Nile Region -- Nebbi, Arua, and Moyo. It must also be remembered that existing Government policy stresses integrated regional rather than piecemeal district or locality approaches to development efforts.

3.12 It is strongly recommended therefore that efforts to plan, develop, and manage the West Nile fisheries be undertaken within a broad regional framework.

3.13 The preliminary activity proposed above for Moyo District would in this way be understood as a first phase of a wider regional project, to be funded insofar as possible by the original donor but with major supplementary assistance, or even the bulk of the overall financial requirement, to be sought from other sources.

3.14 In view of the nature of the circumstances and the urgency with which they must be addressed, it would be very appropriate to organise the wider project as an FAO Technical Cooperation Programme undertaking.

3.15 A full proposal for such a TCP now needs to be drafted, but it can be noted here that the regional project would basically be a scaled-up version of the activities being proposed for the preliminary phase at Laropi in Moyo District.

3.16 In other words, provision would be made to upgrade landing site and Fisheries Department facilities and services, and to encourage the formation of co-operative vocational groups (fishing, processing, trading) through which extension and training activities could be conducted and input distribution effected on a revolving fund basis.

3.17 Important components of the project would also be development and production of safe, durable, and cost effective fishing craft at designated boatbuilding and training centres, and the creation of model fish processing units at major landing sites.

3.18 It is understood that ACORD - UGANDA is already engaged in a Rural Development Promotion (Fisheries) Programme in Jonam County, Nebbi District, and that the Lutheran World Fund programme in Moyo District is developing a Rural Technology Workshop for contracting general construction work and training artisans. Any major undertaking in fisheries development and management in the West Nile District should certainly seek to forge strong collaborative links with such ongoing complementary programmes.

ANNEX 1

ITINERARY -- 30 AUG. 1989

PERSONS MET

+ Local Fishermen, Boatbuilders, and Traders

ANNEX 2

FIG. 1: LOCATION OF WEST NILE REGION & ALBERT NILE FISHERIES

ANNEX 3

TABLE 1: LANDING SITE & MARKET PRICES (UShs) OF FISH, MOYO DISTRICT

* Laropi and Palorenya Landings.
** Moyo Town Market.

NOTE: July 1989 prices for landings and markets in East Moyo as reported by Fisheries staff averaged somewhat lower than those noted here for West Moyo. East Moyo landing prices for fresh fish reportedly averaged UShs 100/- per kg.; market prices averaged UShs 150/- per kg. for fresh, and 250/- per kg. for smoked fish.

ANNEX 4

PROPOSED BUDGET FOR DEVELOPMENT AND MANAGEMENT OF ALBERT NILE FISHERIES
(PRELIMINARY PHASE: MOYO DISTRICT -- NOV/DEC 1989)

NOTES: * For Fisheries Staff and distribution through Co-op Society Revolving Loan Fund.
** For distribution through Co-op Society Revolving Loan Fund.