Although some progress has been made over the past few decades towards the improvement of fisheries information systems, serious deficiencies still exist in the case of most African countries. Their root causes are scarcity of financial means and lack of expertise within national fisheries authorities. Shortages of funds and skilled personnel are reflected in the pervasive lack of facilities and institutional arrangements for the routine collection, compilation, analysis, and dissemination of statistical and related information (Bonzon and Horemans 1988).
As a result of these deficiencies, the statistics being collected in many CIFA (Committee for Inland Fisheries of Africa) countries have been grossly inaccurate and inadequate as foundations for rational planning of development and management programmes. Corrective measures urgently need to be taken in order to establish reliable information systems which can operate on a permanent and self-sustained basis (ibid).
In the case of Uganda, the situation with regard to fisheries information systems is particularly critical as a result of the protracted period of civil turmoil to which the country has been subjected from around the early 1970s until just recently (Reynolds and Greboval 1988; Orach-Meza, Coenen, and Reynolds 1989).1 Fully aware of this problem, the Government requested UNDP funding for, and FAO execution of, an undertaking to revitalise and upgrade national monitoring and reporting capabilities through UGA/87/007, Rehabilitation of Fisheries Statistics and Information Systems, known as the Uganda FISHIN Project for short (FAO/UNDP 1988).
This report, which appears as the first Technical Paper under the FISHIN Notes and Records series, essays a broad examination of fisheries statistics and information capabilities in Uganda. Following an historical review, the organisation, operation, and shortcomings of current approaches to information collection and management are discussed.
The report is an outcome of efforts by the entire FISHIN Project team. Background material was gathered through an extensive literature search and a programme of field visits. The literature search proved rather difficult as a result of the disorganised and diminished state of the archival records. The files and library collection at the Uganda Fisheries Department (UFD) Headquarters in Entebbe unfortunately were subjected to much damage and loss during the civil disturbances of the mid-1980s. Restoration efforts are now underway, but many key documents and accounts are no longer available.
Field visits were made to each of the six fisheries regions which fall within the Project's range of coverage. These regions include Entebbe, Jinja, Kalangala, Masaka, and Tororo, covering the entirety of the Uganda sector of Lake Victoria, and Kichwamba in the west, covering the fisheries of Lakes Edward and George and the Kazinga Channel (see map, Fig. 1, Appendix II). Various Project BIOSTAT (Bio-Statistical) and SEC (Socio-Economic) Field Reports detail the results of the field visits (see References Cited). Information was gathered from direct observations and interviews with Fisheries Officers (FOs), Assistant Fisheries Development Officers (AFDOs), Fisheries Assistants (FAs), and local fisherfolk and traders.
The field investigations focussed on the main characteristics of each region's fishery and the kinds of information commonly collected by Uganda Fisheries Department (UFD) personnel, along with the methods and procedures they employ. Formats for recording information were examined as well as the manner in which data summaries are completed. Note was also taken of the most salient problems, limitations, and drawbacks affecting the quality of information and the system of data flow, analysis, and final summation and dissemination.
On the basis of the team's review of the literature and field investigation findings, a set of recommendations is put forth regarding the reorganisation of fisheries statistical and information management in the country, including the training needs for various grades of UFD staff.
