17. Under agenda item 5 the report of the CIFA Sub-Committee for Lake Victoria was presented (document CIFA/83/4). The Committee noted that the Sub-Committee has been established during the intersessional period by the Director-General of FAO at the expressed wish of the riparian States which felt that there was an absolute need to collaborate in the development and management of the fisheries of the lake, particularly since the disappearance in 1977 of the regional coordinating mechanism, the East Africa Community.
18. The Sub-Committee met from 12 to 14 October 1981 in Mwanza, Tanzania. To be effective as a regional coordinating mechanism the Sub-Committee felt that its work had to be backed by a technical support unit or core programme which would provide for planning, overall direction and coordination of technical and capital assistance aimed at the rational development and management of the fisheries of the lake. Consequently, it adopted an action programme for the development and management of Lake Victoria fisheries and a draft proposal for the investigation and development of the pelagic fisheries. Both proposals have been submitted in summary form to the European Economic Community for consideration of financing by the European Development Fund (EDF).
19. The Committee endorsed the report of the Sub-Committee and supported strongly the follow-up action taken by FAO in view of the financing and implementation of the project.
20. The Committee had also been informed about the ongoing of the research programme on the better utilization of Haplochromis sp. from Lake Victoria, coordinated by the FAO Fisheries Industries Division and carried out jointly by the Nyegezi Freshwater Fisheries Institute in Mwanza, Tanzania, the Fish Technology Laboratory in Entebbe, Uganda and the Department of Fisheries of Kenya.
21. The programme concentrates at the improved handling and distribution of fresh Haplochromis as well as product development taking into account local consumer preferences and market requirements.
