There is clearly a need to make some fundamental adjustments in both the structure and scope of fisheries data and information management procedures within the UFD. Although the situation is particularly critical now, as a result of the period of national turmoil that ended only a few years ago, the team finds that there is a lengthy history of commentary and diagnosis pertaining to weaknesses in fisheries information management generally, and of interventions intended to rectify the situation. It is disturbing that so many efforts have been made to little or no long-lasting avail. At the same time, because the stakes are so great in terms of the fisheries' real and potential contribution to the national welfare, it is more imperative than ever that the challenge of instituting an effective monitoring and reporting system be met.
First and foremost, the reliability and even the very meaning of figures being collected must be secured through a standardised system of (a) monitoring routines (including common categories of items enumerated and common sampling strategies) and (b) quality controls. Beyond this, there is a need to expand the array of items enumerated since there are critical gaps in the information base as it now stands. These gaps must be filled if policy and planning and resource managers are to be adequately informed as they evaluate events and trends in the fisheries sector and formulate development decisions accordingly. In addition, and as a matter of course, once reliable information has been compiled and processed, it must be kept and handled in a way that allows easy retrieval and dissemination through reports, occasional papers, and proper archival and library facilities.
A number of recommended measures have been alluded to in the foregoing discussion, and may be briefly reiterated by way of conclusion to this report. It should be noted that most of the measures are now being planned for and implemented in various stages through the FISHIN Project.
Organisation and execution of a frame survey covering landing sites and facilities, and fishing and transport boats, needs to be undertaken by the Project. If possible, this should be complemented by an aerial census of fishing units.
Organisation and execution of a census of processing, distribution, and marketing facilities around the lakeshore and in the immediate hinterland should also be conducted as soon as possible.
Based on the results of the frame survey and facilities census, more effective and sustainable catch/effort and marketing sample designs should be formulated. Amongst other things this must entail a more rational field staff deployment arrangement, so that optimal coverage can be achieved in terms of available field staff and current concentrations of fishing effort and marketing activities, including cross-border trade.
Also based on the frame survey results, in-depth investigations of critical aspects of the harvest and post-harvest sectors should be carried out through sample surveys of relevant populations of fish producers, fisherfolk community residents, and fish processors, traders, and consumers.
Design of revised recording and reporting content and procedures is needed for the UFD's ongoing data collection and handling routines, so that monthly and yearly compilations and analyses contain more reliable and comprehensive information.
Specifically, a standardised form for recording and tabulating field data must be developed. Records of each sampling session, should be noted on a separate form. For landings, minimal information requirements include: number of boats per type; number of gear per type; and catch weights and prices ex-canoe per species. For markets, minimal information needs to include weights, prices, form, and source of fish per species, and number of traders working at the sampled site.
The number of landings and markets in each region must be carefully established through the frame/census exercises, so that raising factors may be applied to the returns from samples sites.
Furthermore, it is crucial that all sampling be done on a truly random basis, i.e. one not dependent upon individual whim or convenience. The units of enumeration should be consistent throughout the country, and preferably throughout the countries sharing fisheries across the East African region as a whole.
As part of the new standardised routine, a refresher training programme should be mounted for those in the field who will have responsibility for primary data collection. Also, a system of on-the-spot checks and quality controls should be instituted right up through the line of supervision. For field stations, this system should be based on the routine of sampling days. Initial provision of essential equipment and supplies to offices at all levels is required in order to put the new system into effect.
Design and implementation is needed of a scheme for periodic surveys of key fishing and socio-economic factors over longer-term intervals -- on the order of every three to five years, for example. The routine monthly and yearly compilations of data could thus be “recalibrated” if need be, and set into a broader perspective on the state of the national fishing industry.
Early attention must be given to restoring a viable system of information storage, processing, retrieval, and dissemination at the UFD Headquarters. Tasks to be addressed include training in computer use for Statistical Division staff, extensive rehabilitation of the central registry and library facilities, and the reactivation of the Department's publication programme.
In respect to all research and analytical initiatives which touch on issues of fisheries statistics and information management within the country, closer collaboration should be fostered between personnel of the UFD and colleagues sharing their professional concerns in other agencies, particularly UFFRO and the Planning Unit of MAIF.
Finally, closer collaboration should also be encouraged between fisheries authorities and their personnel across the wider East African region, particularly as regards the major fisheries of the shared waters of Lakes Victoria, Edward, and Albert.
