by
J. Wadanya
FISHIN UGA/87/007 | Februrary, 1989 |
1. INTRODUCTION :
1.1 The journey to these south-western lakes commenced from Entebbe on the 3rd/2/89 through the 8th/2/89. Between these periods of stay in the region we were acommpanied by Mr. Tibategyeza, Fisheries Development Officer from the Regional Fisheries Office and visited the following fishing and fish trade areas :
4th/2/89 | - | Katwe fish landing; |
- | Bwera Market; | |
- | Mpondwe customs Post; | |
- | Kayanja Fish Landing. | |
5th/2/89 | - | Katungulu (k) & (b); |
- | Regional Fisheries Office; | |
6th/2/89 | - | Kasenyi Landing; |
- | Kashaka Landing. | |
7th/2/89 | - | Rwenshama Landing with a brief stop-over at Kishenyi Landing. |
8th/2/89 | - | A brief stop-over at RFO and head for Entebbe. |
1.2 OBSERVATIONS ON VISITED LANDINGS :
Katwe Town upon lake Edward is also the site of Katwe Landing.
It has a staffing position of one AFDO and three FAS. There are
over-all one hundred and twelve (112) licenced canoes. The non
operational ones are broken, lacking nets or using other
landings. Fourty-two (42) of these actively operate using an
average of about 10–30 gill-nets of 4–8 inch per boat. Lines &
hooks of no. 4 & 8 for Clarias & Protopterus. The landing has
only one (1) transport canoe operating between Katwe and Kazinga
Landing - a short distance away on the mouth of Kazinga channnel
into Lake Edward.
The approximate catch per day is about two (2) tons with an
estimated average of sixty (60) tons per month. Average catch
per boat per day is 50 kg. Common species are the following
Tilapia spp., Bagrus sp., Protopterus sp. and Barbus sp. Other
species observed were Clarias sp. and Haplochromis spp.
This fish is landed from 9–11 a.m. On arrival fishermen remove
their catch from the nets, sort them by species, sell the fish
to fishmongers who load them onto their wooden wheelbarrows
which they push to the weighing shade, having a scale of 100 kg.
⅔ of the money originating from the selling of the fish goes
to boatowners; ⅓ is divided between the 3 fishermen. The
statistical system is by complete enumeration both of the canoes
and the days of the month. At the shade the assistant only
counts the numbers by species and then takes a sample to weigh
for average weight. It was noted that such samples are usually
very small and lead to underestimates during compilation stage.
On this basis the average daily catch per canoe is the product
of the obtained average weights of individual species and their
recorded numbers. In addition to this information the assistant
also records information on number and type of gear and boat
serial numbers respectively.
However, information such as this (as seen at time of visit) is
gathered from mongers rather than from fishermen and so is
highly susceptible to serious response errors. With the
exception of fish for autoconsumption all the fresh fish goes to
markets of Bwera, Kyarumba, Kisinga and Kinyamaseke on pickups
and alittle on bicycles. As such the four smoking kilns
present are completely redundant.
1.3 BWERA FISH MARKET :
Bwera fish market is a daily fish market centre located about 25
km NW of Katwe town. It is manned by two FAS and handles all the
fresh fish from Katwe Landing. The smoked fish available here is
inclusive of Nile perch from Lake Victoria and Tilapia spp.,
Bagrus sp. and Protopterus sp. of Lake George. Overall the
market records 34–49 tons of fresh fish and 18 tons of smoked
fish per month. Daily for the case of fresh fish the assistants
count and record species by numbers and choose a sample for
weighing (when scale is available). In case of smoked fish the
count for numbers is done on pieces of fish species. Equally a
sample is taken for average weight whenever a scale is
available. FAS also sample 3 other markets. The market has about
40 fishmongers half of whom are women.
The information is recorded by source, number, weight and
value. In addition, for processed fish the nature of cure is
recorded. Normally figures are recorded only on dry weight
basis.
1.4 MPONDWE CUSTOMS POST :
At Mpondwe customs post fish traffic is twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays. The majority of trade (90 %) through this post is fish. On every market day 5–20 pickups take fish to Zaire coming all way from as far as Kampala, Masaka, Entebbe, Bukakata and Jinja and is 90 % Nile perch. Salted sundried fish is treasured in Zaire markets since its keeping time is longer and lends itself to durability and hardness during periods of transportation. The petty trade (mostly smuggling) has been curbed and only exporters with regulated quotas have been permitted to take fish officially on a barter trade arrangement. Though the potential of fish trade with Zaire is big the Ugandan fishmonger has become frustrated by the dishonesty of the Zairian trade colleague as to need official protection.
1.5 KAYANJA FISH LANDING :
With a population of 720 people of whom 320 are tax payers this
landing is manned by 1 AFDO and 1 FA respectively. There are
nineteen (19) fishing boats, 15 of them using nets and four (4)
of them using longlines. Only 4 boats use out-board motors. On
average a boat uses 24–30 nets of meshes 4.5–5 inch. They land
around 8 – 11 a.m. Common species and all the boats' daily
catch is as follows : Tilapia spp. 250 kg /day, Barbus sp. 24
kg/day, Bagrus sp. 150 kg/day, Protopterus sp. few and Clarias
sp. few.
The overall catch per day is 600 kg. Since canoes land with
their catch still in the nets the assistant samples from the
first five by moving from boat to boat taking the average
weights by species. Multiplying this out by the counted numbers
by species computes for daily canoe catches. Thus while the
sample may be fixed the procedure of sampling introduces error
in the result in that the sample is not randomly and
independently selected to offset bias.
Compilation of summary data does not come at end of day but
rather at the 15th day of every month.
Like Katwe there is no smoking of fish such that all the fresh
fish goes to markets of Mpondwe, Bwera, Kinyamaseke, Kajwenge
and Karambi on pickups. Other minor fish markets are served by
cyclists.
1.6 Katungulu (k) landing :
The landing is manned by one FA and has got relatively low
level fishing along the Kasese District North side of the
Kazinga Channel.
There are fourteen fishing boats using 20–25 nets per boat of
mesh 4–5 inch and few longlines.
Two transport canoes cruise here from other landings of Lake
George throughout the week save sundays. The following species
are common in the catch: Bagrus sp. 16 kg /boat/day at visit,
Protopterus sp. 10 kg / boat / day at visit, Tilapia spp. 10 Kg/
boat /day at visit and Clarias sp. 5 Kg/boat/day at visit.
Barbus sp. are rare.
Most of the fish is transported by vehicles (since landing is on
the main road) to Kasese Market. There is also a good volume of
fried fish mostly transported to Kabale Town.
The volume of fish recorded is about 8–10 tons a month at this
landing.
Data collection is by complete enumeration both of the canoes
and days of the month. Fish is sorted by species and their
numbers recorded (no records were available for inspection)
However, it was noted that weighings for average weights was
very irregularly done meaning that the figures commonly used as
baseline may be fixed at the whims of the attending assistant.
1.7 Katungulu (b) Landing :
Among the landings visited this was the only landing manned by
an enumerator. There are 30 fishing canoes also fishing for
comparable species as Katungulu (k) just on the opposite of
Kazinga channel - the Bushenyi District. Gears in use are gill
nets 20–30 per canoe and 4–5 inch mesh size.
There is a slight difference in catch rates from the sister
landing of Katungulu (k) as can be observed hereunder : Bagrus
sp. 14 kg/boat/day at visit, Protopterus sp. 15 kg / canoe / day
at visit, Tilapia spp. 20 kg /canoe /day at visit, Clarias sp.
22 kg/canoe/day at visit and Barbus sp. 4 kg /canoe/day at
visit.
However this big figure may be due to the high bias in the data
as the enumerator at this landing does not seem to comprehend
statistics principles and procedures.
Through the process of complete enumeration of canoes fish is
sorted by species and numbers for on record. Though the scale
is quite faulty the assistant does not take into consideration
its level of bias when recording for average weights. Based on
this level of bias the landing does produce 12 – 14 tons of fish
a month. Most of it goes fresh to the markets of Katungulu and
Kasese.
1.8 Kashaka Landing :
Kashaka is a remote landing on the eastern shores of Lake
George. Manned by one AFDO and one FA, it has twentyeight
fishing canoes and fortytwo fishermen (a number of them share
canoes) and most use gillnets, 20 on average, having meshes 4 –
5 inch. Those using longlines have up to 150 hooks in each
boat.
The landing is served by two transport boats which pick up
people as well as smoked fish enroute Katungulu (k). Although
the landing produces close to 35 kg/boat/day i.e. 28 tons a
month of fresh fish save that for autoconsumption, all is smoked
at the landing. Some fresh fish is sold elsewhere on
bicycles. Two processors having agents control the whole
operation of 8 smoking kilns though only 6 were operational.
The common species are caught quantitatively as follows :
Protopterus sp. 7.5 kg /boat/day at visit. Clarias sp. 0.7 kg
/boat/day at visit, Tilapia spp. 18 kg/boat/day at visit. Bagrus
sp. 7.8 kg /boat/day at visit and Barbus sp. are rare.
The statistical procedure for data gathering at this landing is
fairly elaborate and was the first landing to exhibit fairly
accurate data taking. Using the complete enumeration method
for every canoe the fish is sorted by species and completely
weighed and recorded by the assistant. Though there is
normally no daily summary of records at the end of the month
these daily records are reorganised and the summarries in terms
of numbers, weights and values are sent to the regional office.
There is no adjustment for non-recording days.
On the side of smoked fish numbers and price per species bought
by the fishmonger are recorded and an average weight is defined
tocompute for the total weight in a month. There is, however,
no information on fish consumed at the landing.
1.9 KASENYI LANDING :
This landing is located on the south-western side of lake George
and manned by one AFDO and two FAS. Fishing is done by
thirty-six boats, each with an average of six (6) nets and
fishing all day. There are no powered fishing boats but two
transport canoes.
The catch per canoe per day approximates 49 kg or 53 tons per
month. Their common rates are as follows : Tilapia sp. 15 kg
/day, Bagrus sp. 18 kg/day, Protopterus sp. 11 kg/day, Clarias
sp. 4.5 kg/day and Barbus sp. are rare.
The statistics collection here is also by complete enumeration
of canoes and days of the month. Recording is only not done on
holidays though a few canoes go fishing. For the case of late
coming canoes the assistants take only the average weights and
use this index for multiplication. However, this being so and
there being no scale this average is only an educated guess.
The monthly reports feature data on numbers, weights and values.
No catch is sold fresh except that reserved for autoconsumption
(30 %). The smoked fish constitutes the whole bulk of fish
(70 %) and is processed on five ordinary kilns. There is also
an element of little salting at the landing.
2. RWENSHAMA LANDING :
This landing is situated at the south most tip of Lake Edward in
Rukungiri District. It has a total of fortyfive (45) fishing
canoes with thirtyfive of them in active fishing. The rest are
inactive due to lack of gears. At the moment the landing has no
transport canoe although there are expected to be forteen
powered boats at this place. Staffing position is 1 AFDO and 3
FAS.
The most prevalent species include : Tilapia spp., Bagrus sp.,
Barbus sp., Clarias sp., Protopterus sp., Mormyrus sp. and Labeo
sp.
The average catch per boat per day ranges from 16–21 kg making a
total catch of about 22 tons per month. Most fishing is from
gillnets of small meshes of 4.5–5 inch. The biggest quantity of
the fish is smoked (68 %) and 12 % goes fresh for autoconsumption
and as well only fresh Tilapia is taken away to
Bikurunga market (20 %).
The major markets for smoked fish include : Kabale, Butogota
and Kihihi all being distant areas and so served by five pickups
from the landing.
The statistics collection is again by the system of complete
enumeration of canoes and the days of the month. On daily basis
both the counting of fish species by numbers and sample weight
is done. This species weight is recorded for every canoe
arriving and at the end of the day these species weights are
summed and their mean of means found. A similar routine is
adopted for finding the average prices on daily basis. Records
by the end of the day have the following variables : total
numbers, total canoes, total number of fish consumed at landing
and average price by species.
Normally data on production, processing as well as marketing is
summarised and sent to the Regional office despite the oddities
of the poor state of communication.
2.1 THE REGIONAL OFFICE :
The regional office gathers reports from the 13 official landings of Lakes Edward & George and on other 20 minor ones on monthly basis and a final compilation and quality assessment done. Specifically in this region the following criteria of tabulation is operational :
Species by landings in terms of number, weight and value.
Fresh fish disposals by species per landing in terms of number, weight and value and also destination.
Smoked fish disposals by species per landing in terms of number, weight, value and destination.
Fried fish disposal by species per frying landing in terms of number, weight, value and destination.
No summary of auto-consumed fish from the the landings although in landings like Kasenyi and Rwenshama these data are collected on daily basis.
There is incomplete coverage on the enumeration on minor waters due to logistic problems.
No summaries of the data collected in markets.
General examination of records reveals that data is underestimated, fabricated and highly incomplete. The completely diverse procedures seen on doing the enumeration and on the variables to be recorded on shows lack of adherence to a common adopted system of work.
2.2 EVALUATION :
On these lakes the system of data collection is biased towards
complete enumeration. On this broad system you find a
combination with attempted random sampling superposed on the
former. Where this occurs there is apparent lack of adherence to
system procedures in order to maximise accuracy which can only
come out of a random and independent sample.
Further still, the statistical variables considered from landing
to landing are not uniform. Each assistant at a landing in most
cases will only record on information deemed of his choice.
The case of high bias in data recording was noted specifically
for Katungulu (b) landing. Here the enumeration is in the hands
of a recorder using a defective scale yet not correcting for
errors and so gives inflated figures to the Regional office.
Errors of commission are rampant in all stations where a
particular average weight is used over very long time and not
reviewed on daily basis to reflect the dynamics of the fishery.
Additionally in a number of stations where illegal mesh sizes
are used, the assistants fix for their average weight the
standard that would come from the legal mesh size and so end up
with highly biased overestimates.
The tabulation system is not coherent in all stations due to a
poorly established system of work which leads to loss of
commonality and finally collapse of refinement in the data.
In other instances, like at Katwe, the information about fish
catch and gears for the day is obtained from the fishmonger not
from the fisherman himself. The respondent errors so introduced
are never accounted for.
The region operates in a controlled fishery and has a lot of
illegalities going on. However, information on catch from the
many illegal landings is never accounted for except for the
number of illegal canoes destroyed whenever there is a clean up
operation.
Estimations for holidays and missed days when an assistant may
be away but fishing went on is considered in very few landings.
These errors of ommission may be leading to a higher loss of
information to the harvest sector.
PRESENT DURING THE MISSION WERE :
Mr. E. Coenen - CTA
Dr. Orach-Meza - proj. Dir.
Mr. Odongkara - sen. Econ.