BIOSTAT REPORT NO. 8

Report on the Mission to Iganga District
(29th May - 2nd June 1989)

by

J. Ikwaput

15 June 1989

1. INTRODUCTION

In line with the activities of project “Rehabilitation of Fisheries Statistics and Information Systems”, a field trip was made to Iganga District from 29th May to 2nd June 1989. A team of three Biologists/Statisticians was joined in Jinja by the Senior Economist. The team paid a courtesy call at the Jinja Regional Fisheries Office where they were met by Mr. S.S. Nkusi (Regional Fisheries Officer), Miss J. Atim (Fisheries Officer), Mr. D. Mutumba (Jinja District Fisheries Officer). The team left for Iganga District in the afternoon accompanied by Miss. J. Atim. The team was met by Mr. J. Bikala (District Fisheries Officer) who was to accompany the group to the landings. Dr. Reynolds, Socio-Economic Advisor of the project, joined the team at Bwondha fish landing.

The following major landings were visited :

2. MISSION REPORT

2.1. Jinja Regional Office

Jinja Regional office supervises the fisheries activities of Jinja, Iganga, and Kamuli Districts. The Team of Biologists/Statisticians reviewed files on three of the major landings of Jinja District, namely : Masese, Ripon, and Wanyange. We observed that the presentation of the statistical data is incomplete in that numbers of boats, sampled days, gears used, plus the method used to estimate the total catch are not indicated. In all the three landings gill- netting was reported as the dominant method of fishing, and also hooks are being used. Beach seining is reported to be gaining momentum at Wanyange landing. The species landed include, in decreasing order of abundance, : Lates niloticus, Oreochromis niloticus, Clarias sp., Barbus sp., Mormyrus sp., Tilapia zilli and Oreochromis esculenta. Masese and Ripon landings also land cured fish consisting of Lates niloticus, Rastrineobola and Tilapia sp. Fish curing is mainly by smoking and sundrying.

2.2. Iganga District

The District Fisheries Officer gave a brief on the staffing position and fisheries activities in the district. The team was informed that the district has eight Assistant Fisheries Development Officers (AFDOs), three of whom are stationed at the District Office and five in the field. Two of the field officers have been assigned supervisory duties - one in charge of Bukoli County and the other Bunya County - where the main fishing activities take place. One other AFDO surveys all the eight main markets in the district. The district has also nine Fisheries Assistants (FA's), one Marketing Assistant and one Fish Guard.

The district has many markets, with 8 of them being counted as main markets. These include : Iganga Central, Idudi, Busembatia, Bugiri, Namatumba, Kawet, Kiyunga, and Buluba.

Of the some 30 landings in Iganga District, there are about 10 major ones. Staff are stationed at the major landings and they control the neighbouring minor landings.

2.3. Lwanika Fish Landing

Lwanika landing, one of the major landings in Iganga District, is situated about 24 miles from Iganga Town and has one Fisheries Assistant and one Fish Guard. These staff control the three main landings of Lwanika, Namoni and Butte, as well as the minor ones of Malindi and Bukasero. Butte is 6 miles from Lwanika, Bukasero is 22 miles from Lwanika, Namoni is 4 miles from Lwanika and Malindi is 7 miles from Lwanika. Transport to these landings is by means of borrowed bicycles or by using fishermen's boats.

Lwanika landing has a total of 47 boats, of which 35 are active fishing units, 3 are transport boats and 7 are out of commission. All the transport craft are equipped with outboard engines, but only one of the fishing units is motorised, the rest being manually propelled.

The boats land between 6.00 a.m and 11.00 a.m daily. Statistical work is by total enumeration of all the boats landing and all the fish in each boat. The landing has a weighing scale but it is out of order. Thus, to arrive at the total weight landed, the staff multiply the total number of fish per species with the average weight per fish, as roughly estimated by observing the sizes of fish. An average of 560 Tilapia are landed daily with average catch of 16 fish per boat, using 4–8 nets/boat of meshes 4.5–7". The average weight per fish is 0.6–1 kg which gives an average total weight of 336–560 kg per day or 10 –17 tonnes per month. An average of 7 Lates niloticus per boat are caught using meshes of 8"–10". Fish caught in the 8" nets weigh an average of 6 kg and those from 10" nets 8 kg. There are only 10 boats fishing for Lates niloticus so this gives an average daily catch of 70 Lates or 490 kg per day and 14.7 tonnes per month. There is only one boat operating with hooks (size 7) fishing for Protopterus and using Mormyrus kannume as bait. Sampling is done during 10 days per month. The total weight obtained is then multiplied by 3 to obtain the total weight for the whole month. Sampling on the other two major landings is done twice a week while the minor ones are visited twice a month. The visits are not programmed because they are regulated by availability of transport. Approximately 3500 Tilapia's (2–3.5 tons) are caught per day for the supervised landings.

Fresh fish is sold within Jinja region and transport is by bicycles except for marine transport which operates from Namoni and Butte to Masese. Average price per head for fresh fish is Ug. Sh. 150/- for Tilapia. Lates is sold at approximately 250/- per kg (1000/- to 2000/- per head depending on the size). Protopterus is sold at 60/- per kg.

Smoked fish from Buvuma Islands is landed occasionally and weight is estimated. Usually 1–2 bundles are landed per week. There are two smoking kilns at Lwanika landing which operate occasionally for smoking Lates when fresh sales fail. No records of smoked fish are kept.

The information collected from the whole supervised area is compiled and sent to the District Fisheries Office at the end of the month. The report contains information on Catch/Value estimates, weather conditions, fishing factors, main markets supplied, socio-economic factors and law enforcement.

2.4. Butte Landing

Butte landing, situated 6 miles from Lwanika landing was visited during the afternoon. The landing is situated in a forest reserve and the eviction which was effected by the forest officials led to the migration of fishermen to other landings.

The landing is manned by the staff from Lwanika. There are 20 planked boats all manually propelled, and most of them in poor condition. One powered transport boat operates out of the landing. The number of nets usually ranges from 4–6 per boat of mesh size 4.5–6". One boat is reported with 11 nets of mesh size 8". The landing also receives visiting boats from Namoni and Lingira, normally around 5 per day except on market days when the number may reach as many as 10. An average of 140 Tilapia are landed daily and these weigh about 56 kg which is approximately 1.7 tonnes per month. About 12 kg per day of Lates niloticus is landed and this totals to about 0.4 tonnes per month. Most of the fish, especially Tilapia, does not reach the landings because it is being smuggled to Kenya.

Statistical collection is done twice a month, with the estimate for a whole month being based on the total catch for 2 days multiplied by 15. These data are forwarded to the District Fisheries Office at the end of the month.

2.5 Bugoto Fish Landing :

Bugoto fish landing, situated about 35 miles from Iganga Town, is manned by one Assistant Fisheries Development Officer with two Fisheries Assistants. These staff control other minor landings of Nduwa, Musubi, Bubinge and Budumbere. There are 64 boats overall at Bugoto landing, all in seaworthy condition. Out of these, 44 are fishing boats, 2 are for transport, and 18 are non-operational because of lack of nets. There are 3 engines one being used for fishing and the other two for transport. The common species landed at Bugoto are Lates niloticus, Oreochromis niloticus, Protopterus, Clarias sp. and (rarely) Mormyrus sp.

Musubi landing is at a distance of 6 miles from Bugoto and has 20 fishing boats. A majority of fishermen use long lines with only 3 boats using nets. The landing has got a weighing scale of 50 kg capacity. Budumbere landing is also 6 miles from Bugoto landing. The landing has 20 fishing boats and no transport boats. Bubinge is 8 miles from Bugoto and has 10 fishing boats while Nduwa is 15 miles from Bugoto and has got 30 fishing boats with a weighing scale.

Sampling is done for 15 days in a month using proportional division (3 days in a week : Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays). The boats are sampled randomly and total enumeration of the fish is done from the sampled boats. The fish from sampled boats is then sorted according to species and weighed on the 100 kg scale available. Total catch for the day is obtained by getting average catch for the sampled boats and multiplying it with the total number of boats fishing. At the time of visit, average daily catch for the species was running as follows : Tilapia spp. 179 kg, Protopterus 32 kg, Lates niloticus 279 kg and Clarias sp. 5 kg. This gives total daily catch of 495 kg and an average of 14.9 tons per month.

Musubi landing is sampled twice a week and for the rest of the days statistical collection is done by the Head Fisherman who has been provided with a note book. Total enumeration of all the boats and fish is done on daily basis.

Budumbere, like Musubi landing, has a Head Fisherman who assists in statistical collection. There is a weighing scale and total enumeration of boats and fish is done on daily basis.

At Bubinge and Nduwa landings, sampling is done by staff only when a visit is made.

Information gathered during the sampled days is used to calculate the total estimate for the month and for the whole supervised area. The total estimates for the month are then forwarded to the District Fisheries Office. The report contains Catch/Value estimates, weather conditions for the reported month and fishing factors.

2.6 Bukoba Fish Landing

Bukoba fish landing, situated about 30 miles from Iganga Town, is a permanent and gazetted landing which has been operational since 1956. The landing is manned by one AFDO who also controls two other minor landings of Nakirimira (2 miles) and Kabaganja (5 miles). The landing has an overall total of 59 boats, of which 30 are fishing boats (not motorised), one is for transport (motorised) and 28 are not seaworthy. The average number of nets per boat is 10 of meshes ranging from 4.5"–8" for the Tilapia fishery and 6"–8" for the Lates niloticus fishery. Protopterus aethiopicus are rarely caught using longlines and there are only three fishermen who are longliners. Fishing is done at night throughout the year and landing occurs in the morning from 6.00 am – 10.00 am.

Sampling is done on alternate days or about 15 days in a month. Total enumeration of all fish in all the boats is carried out. Average catch per day at the time of visit for Tilapia sp. was 120 fish, weighing 60 kg in all. This amounts to about 1.8 tonnes per month. Lates catches range from 12 –20 fish/boat/day weighing 60 – 80 kg during good seasons and 7 – 10 fish/boat/day weighing 30 – 40 kg during poor seasons. Average price for fresh fish is 70/- per kg of Tilapia sp., 80/- per kg of Lates and 40/- kg of Protopterus. Estimated total weight for the whole month is calculated from the average total weight/day multiplied by 30. Each minor landing is visited about 4 times a month. The estimate for the whole month is based on average weight for the 4 days multiplied by 30. Minor landing statistics are presented on separate tables.

2.7 Bwondha Fish Landing

This is one of the most active and productive landing in the district. Situated approximately 50 km. from Iganga Town, the landing is found in a forest reserve. It is manned by an AFDO, an FA and a Fish Guard. These staff also supervise four other minor landings on the mainland and three on the islands. Three of the minor landings on the mainland have also been affected by the forest eviction act and this has led to their decline. The landings on the mainland include : Kabondo (3 miles from Bwondha with 12 boats), Bungoma (7 miles from Bwondha with 7 boats), Kafu (3 miles from Bwondha with 11 boats) and Bwembe (5 miles from Bwondha with 13 boats). The island landings include Jagusi III (5 miles from Bwondha with 13 boats), Jagusi IV (7 miles from Bwondha with 17 boats) and Jagusi V (15 miles from Bwondha with 9 boats). Number of nets per boat ranges from 2–9 of mesh size 4.5" for the Tilapia sp. fishery and 10–30 of mesh 7"–10" (8" being the commonest) for the Lates niloticus fishery. Rastrineobola argentea are caught using mosquito seine nets.

Landing time at Bwondha is from 9.00 a.m to 2.00 p.m with the collecting canoes from islands arriving first. Catches vary with time of the year, being high during the rainy season. Most of the fish is sold on the water to smugglers and this has led to rare landings of Tilapia sp. Apart from the boat users, there are about 150 anglers for Tilapia sp. along the shore from Bwondha to Kabondo. These use an average of three rods per angler and they catch an average of 4 fish per day. Assuming an average of 2.5 kg per fish this amounts to a daily catch of 1.5 tons or 45 tons per month.

The landing has a total of 40 smoking kilns though only 25 were operational at the time of visit. There are about 200 fish processors with an average of 5 people/kiln. The CICS group have also constructed 4 smoking kilns and drying racks. There are also 9 women, each with assistants, who fry fish for sale within Bwondha from 9.00 a.m to 4.00 p.m. After that the remaining fish is taken to Nalubabwe for sale.

Bwondha fish landing supplies the markets of Iganga, Kaluba, Busembatia, and Idudi as well as numerous local markets. There are 130 traders who ferry fresh fish from Bwondha on bicycles. On any one day 30–50 bicycles are in operation, each carrying an average of 50 kg. Smoked fish goes mainly to Iganga, Idudi and local markets. Usually there are 10 or so bicycles each day carrying smoked fish from Bwondha. Each load contains about 100 pieces (50 kg). Two landrovers from Mbale and Pallisa each visit the landing once a week, while one landrover from Iganga visits the landing three times a week.

Sampling in Bwondha is done once or twice a week. For each of the minor landings sampling takes place once every two weeks. Bwondha has a weighing scale of 50 kg capacity, but this was out of order at the time of visit. Two methods of estimating weight are being used at this landing :

1. The first method involves counting the bundles (each normally of five fish) in the transport boat, then picking two fishmongers to judge the weight of two bundles each. The average weight of the estimated bundles are multiplied by the number of bundles in the boat. All transport boats are sampled and their total weight calculated. For the local boats, information on the number of fish brought in by each is obtained directly from the fishermen. Total weight is estimated roughly on the basis of fish sizes. This is then added to the total weight from the transport boats to give the total daily weight for the entire landing.

2. The second method involves inspecting the kilns and finding out whether the fish was from the carrier boats or from the local boats. The staff then count the number of fresh fish in the kilns and use this to estimate the total catch for the day.

The variables recorded include : the number of fish, the species landed, estimated weight and the value. For carrier boats the number of boats landed, including the origin of the boat is recorded. Summaries of the compiled data are submitted to the District Fisheries Office and it is the estimated total catch for 30 days covering from 21st to 19th dates of adjacent months. Contribution by each landing is reported on separate tables.

2.8 Wakawaka Fish Landing

Situated about 35 km from Bugiri town, the landing has a staffing position of two Fisheries Assistants. The landing hosts 20 boats, although the number fluctuates somewhat. There are 15 fishing canoes (non motorised), 2 transport boats (motorised) and 4 which are damaged and out of operation, though still with nets. The number of nets per boat for the Lates fishery ranges from 25 to 30 of 8" mesh size. Only 4 boats are involved in this fishery, which is conducted in the offshore waters. Boats fishing the inshore waters carry 3–6 nets of 4.5"–6" mesh size and aim for Tilapia sp. There are three fishermen who use long lines, working alone in their boats with an average number of 20 hooks per line. Occasionally Protopterus aethiopicus is caught by longlines using Tilapia sp. fillets as baits.

The Fisheries Department staff also control other minor landings as follows : Luwenge (7 miles from Wakawaka with three boats); Idokwe (8 miles from Wakawaka with 30 boats); Matiko (18 miles from Wakawaka with 28 boats); and Bumeru (28 miles from Wakawaka with 10 boats). Fish from Bumeru landing is collected into one transport boat and taken to Wakawaka.

Sampling days are picked at random and it is normally done when there is no market day and no rain. The staff try to sample as many days as possible in a month but there is no uniform programme. On sampled days, total enumeration of boats and fish is carried out. There are two weighing scales both of 100 kg capacity, one belonging to the department and the other owned privately and used for fish sales. Exact weight for fish landed in a day can be obtained from the sales record because all fish is sold according to weight. Average catch for Lates sp. per boat is 25 kg and for Tilapia sp. is 18–25 kg per boat. Average daily catch is about 600 kg which gives an average monthly catch of 18.0 tons. Average price per kilogram varies depending on the quantity landed.

Smoked fish is landed on market days, every Monday and Tuesday. This fish comes from the islands of Lubia, Namiti, Laboro and Makanga (all of Mukono District), as well as Masulia, Sagati and Bumba (of Iganga District). Occasionally smoked products are also brought from Ndolwe. All market days are sampled. The fish comes in bundles of various sizes. Small bundles are weighed as a whole but if a bundle is big a sample is picked, weighed, and the average weight multiplied by the total number of pieces in the bundle. Approximately 4000 kg of smoked fish per market day is brought in by 12 boats, 3 of which are powered and the rest using sails. There is no smoking done at the landing but there is one emergency kiln.

The estimates for a month are made at the end of the month. For fresh fish, the average of the sample total is multiplied by the number of days in the month to give the total estimated weight. For cured fish the total of all the market days is the total for the month.

The minor landings are not sampled except Luwenge which is sampled on market days, that is on Saturday and Sunday. The statistics is included in the Wakawaka report.

The statistical data gathered from the landings is submitted to the District Office on a monthly basis together with information on the weather conditions during the month, fishing methods, fish marketing, transport and law enforcement. Footnotes on number of days sampled are included in the report.

2.9 Evaluation

Information collection is not uniform in this region. In some cases it merely amounts to casual and unstructured observation. In others, an effort is made to carry out more formal sampling. On sampling days, statistical collection ranges from total enumeration of all boats and fish to total enumeration of fish in sampled boats. Where boats are sampled, there is no systematic method of choosing which boats to count. The assistant may thus pick on those with greater or lesser catches as he may deem fit. Apart from Wakawaka which has a sound working scale, weights reported are just estimates and therefore subject to bias. In the case of minor landings, sampling occurs only once or twice in a month or simply not at all, even though most of the landings have a good number of boats. Where sampling is done once or twice, estimates based on two days are hardly representative. Information from unsampled landings is completely lost. For the case of Bwondha, the use of two different methods for data collection without help of the weighing scale leads to under estimate as observed at the time of visit. Lack of weighing scales in most landings leads to low quality data being submitted.