1. The Sub-Committee for the Development and Management of the Fisheries of Lake Victoria of the Committee for Inland Fisheries of Africa (CIFA), held its First Session from 12 to 14 October 1981 in Mwanza, Tanzania. The Session was attended by representatives from the three Member Nations, Kenya, the United Republic of Tanzania and Uganda, Representative for the United Nations Development Programme, observers from EEC and the Netherlands. A list of delegates and observers is given in Appendix A of this report.
2. Mr G.K. Libaba, Director of Fisheries, United Republic of Tanzania, welcomed the participants on behalf of the people and the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania. He drew the attention of FAO and delegates to the need for cooperative action in developing and managing the fisheries of Lake Victoria. He urged the members of the Sub-Committee to come up with recommendations which will foster regional cooperation to all users of the renewable aquatic resources of Lake Victoria and that will ensure a rational utilization of this common heritage. His statement is given in Appendix B.
3. Mr J.J. Kambona addressed the participants on behalf of the Director-General of FAO and the Assistant Director-General (Fisheries Department). He referred to the attention which is being given by FAO to the implementation of a policy recommended by the Member Nations for adjustments to the structure and operation of the regional fishery bodies to allow decentralization of decision making and delivery of technical assistance services for fisheries management and development.
4. He reminded the participants that the African nations were striving to implement the Monrovia Strategy adopted by their heads of state which aims at arriving at food self-sufficiency and increasing fish production.
5. Finally, he referred to a regional proposal for a technical assistance programme for the development and management of the fisheries of Lake Victoria. His statement is given in Appendix C.
6. The Deputy Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme in Tanzania, Mr P. Reynolds, stressed the importance of a cooperative approach by the three riparian states in planning for the exploitation and management of the resources of Lake Victoria.
7. Mr G.K. Libaba, Director of Fisheries, United Republic of Tanzania and Mr A. Biribonwoha, Commissioner for Fisheries of Uganda, were elected Chairman and Vice-Chairman, respectively, for the Session.
8. The agenda was adopted, as attached (Appendix D).
Under Item 4a the Secretariat presented Paper No. CIFA:DM/LV/81/4, Review of the Status of the Fisheries of Lake Victoria.
9. Twenty years ago the traditional view of the Lake Victoria fishery was that of a gillnet fishery based almost completely on a limited and diminishing stock of Tilapias. Even then other species occurred as incidental to this main catch, and a second, if somewhat limited, fishery was also recognized for the anadromous species of the various inflowing rivers. Somewhat later the UNDP/FAO Lake Victoria Fisheries Research Project identified a deep-water stock of Haplochromis opening up the prospect of a truly alternative fishery within the lake. Otherwise the view of the shallow water artisanal fishery as exploiting a multispecies resource has persisted. This view implies that the conservation of the level of catch of 110 000 t in recent years has been achieved through adjustments within this multispecies stocks supplemented by the Haplochromis produced by the new fishery.
10. Examination of catch statistics (see Appendix G) and the descriptions of the various activities in the lake indicate that there are, in fact, a number of fisheries which are species (or species complex) specific and which overlap relatively little with other fisheries due to differences in gear, mesh size or locality. Some conflicts between these various fisheries may however be inevitable. The characteristics of these fisheries are summarized in Table 1.
Table 1
Characteristics of the principal fisheries of Lake Victoria
| Fishery | Target Species | Modality | Significance in National Fisheries (%) | Possible Conflicts | Subsidiary Species | Status | ||
| (1979) | ||||||||
| Kenya | Tanzania | Uganda | ||||||
| ANADROMOUS | Barbus altianalis Labeo victorianus Alestes, Schilbe small mormyrids | Traps and lines in rivers: gillnets in river mouths | 3.8 | 15.3 | 2.3 | B. altianalis, L. victorianus and S. mystus prone to capture as subsidiary species in gillnets of Tilapia fishery and in trawls | Generally over-fished but signs of recovery at least for Labeo particularly in Tanzania | |
| TILAPIA | Sarotherodon esculentus S. niloticus S. leucostictus S. variabilis T. zillii | 2 ½–4 ½ in (6–11 cm) gillnets set in shallow bays and sheltered shores: slight differences in placement may alter species ratios | 8.9 | 12.5 | 9.9 | With other gillnets fisheries for Bagrus, Protopterus and Lates, etc., although larger mesh size and different placement of nets in these fisheries may avoid excessive competition | Synodontis, L. victorianus, Haplochromis spp. In shallow bay communities of insectivores, detritivores molluscivores and piscivores | Overfished generally with stocks in poor state but some signs of recovery through lake. Some differences in proportional representation of species with S. niloticus becoming more important |
| PROTOPTERUS/CLARIAS | Protopterus aethiopicus, Clarias mossambicus | Gillnets (12.5 cm, 5 in and above) or hook lines set in mud bottomed areas near the papyrus fringe | 11.4 | 12.4 | 22.1 | In case of gillnets possible overlap with some Tilapia species and with Lates. Mesh size larger than that used for Tilapia so conflicts limited | Lates niloticus and larger Tilapias | Uncertain but probably near the limits except in Nyanza Gulf, Kenya where they appear over-fished |
| BAGRUS | Bagrus docmac | Gillnets (12.5 cm, 5 in and above) in the deeper more open waters and exposed rocky shores | 5.8 | 9 | 39.0 | Possible overlaps with S. variabilis but larger mesh size and spatial separation would keep to a minimum | Uncertain, probably need limits in Tanzania, overfished in Nyanza Gulf, but still rising in Uganda | |
| TRAWL | Haplochromis spp. II (Deepwater detritivore planktonophage species) | Trawls in waters deeper than 20 m | - | 37.8 | - | Conflicts with shallower water gillnet fisheries if trawl used in waters less than 20 m | Xenoclarias, Bagrus, Synodontis, possibly Mormyrus kannume | Underexploited in all countries; developing in Tanzania where local overfishing of Mwanza Gulf stocks is indicated |
| PELAGIC | Engraulicypris (Rastrineobola) argenteus and Haplochromis spp. III (pelagic and semi-pelagic species flock of phytoplankton and zooplankton feeders | (i) Fish are concentrated with light in deeper waters drifted into shallow waters where they are captured with beach seines | 30.5 | 2.8 | 0.4 | Beach seines destructive catching young and breeding Sarotherodon, Tilapia and Haplochromis spp. I, also young Lates in Nyanza Gulf. Ring nets probably no conflicts | Possibly very underexploited but not well understood. Represents a new stock and possible new open water pelagic fishery. In Nyanza Gulf is the dominant fishery | |
| (ii) Scoop nets and ring nets | ||||||||
| OTHER FISHERIES | 39.6 | 10.2 | 26.2 | |||||
(i) Haplochromis spp. I | Haplochromis spp. I (shallow waters communities of insectivores, detritivores, molluscivores and piscivores) | Gillnets 1– 2 ½ in (2.5–6.5 cm) in some waters (mainly in Nyanza Gulf) | 21.6 | - | 9.2 | Gillnet fisheries capture juvenile Tilapias | Signs of over-exploitation in shallow waters of Nyanza Gulf where catch is falling | |
| (ii) Lates | Lates niloticus | very large mesh gillnets 12 in (30 cm) and larger | 14.0 | - | 1.1 | Possibly with other gillnet-based fisheries which may capture | Protopterus, Clarias, Sarotherodon niloticus | Slight in Tanzania, and highly exploited in Nyanza Gulf no signs as yet of over-fishing. Reached a peak in 1976 in Uganda and has since declined slightly |
| (iii) Mormyrus | Mormyrus kannume | 4–4 ½ in (10–11.5 cm) gillnets in deep waters Nyanza lake islands | 1.2 | 0.7 | 0.8 | Status unknown, possibly not practised at present | ||
| (iv) Synodontis | Synodontis afrofischeri, Synodontis victoriae | Site specific trawling and gillnetting | 1.6 | 7.5 | 15.2 | Possible interactions with Haplochromis spp. III | Possible new limited fishery in Uganda not at present exploited | |
11. The distinction of several clearly defined fisheries with their own characteristics has important consequences for management policy as each of the fisheries will have its own research, development and management needs. The plurality of fisheries also offers the management option of switching between fisheries in order to conserve the stocks in one or more of the fisheries. In fact the switch to Bagrus on the part of the Ugandan fishermen, because of the high price of Bagrus and the unavailability of industrially produced small mesh gillnets, seems to have relieved the pressure on Tilapia over a period of about five years with a consequent recovery of the stocks of the various Sarotherodon and Tilapia species.
12. Recent years have seen the development of two new fisheries. In addition to the more traditional gillnet-based fisheries for Tilapias, Bagrus, Clarias and Protopterus. The first of these, the trawl fishery, has been locally introduced to exploit (in a limited basis) the stocks of fish in the deeper waters of the lake. The infant fishery of the Mwanza Gulf has been closely monitored by the Netherlands Haplochromis Ecology Survey Team. This monitoring indicates already that certain trends exist which serve as a guide to fishing practise during the inevitable expansion of this fishery throughout the lake.
Stocks appear to be of low mobility, consequently local overfishing is a real risk. Already signs of evolution of the fish community exist under fishing pressure in Tanzanian waters similar to those shown by the Malawi haplochromine stocks in Lake Malawi (selective disappearance of larger individuals and species) and overfishing may already have taken place in the Nyanza Gulf gillnet fishery. Recolonization of overexploited areas is a slow process from other areas and thus fisheries should be spread in space and time to avoid any single community being overfished.
It has been demonstrated that the sub-littoral, 10–20 m block have strong seasonal breeding. It may be noted that because of the flush of nutrients into the lake during the rains the availability of food to the sub-littoral zone leading to a build up of fat stores in fish and breeding at this time. It may therefore be appropriate to place a moratorium on the fishery at this time. In compensation, the deeper water stocks may well breed later - during the dry season - with a need for a similar closed season then. If this is so, the fishery may switch between the two stocks according to season.
The present mesh size of 19 mm appears too small. Most species of Haplochromis mature at 6–7 cm, whereas trawls with cod ends of this mesh catch up to 60 percent of fish smaller than 5 cm a few months after spawning and thus immature. A larger cod end mesh size may be advisable.
13. The second new fishery is that for Engraulicypris (Rastrineobola). This intiated with beach seines in both Kenyan and Tanzanian waters of the lake, but has since expanded in places to include a light fishery with ring nets and scoop nets and has thus become a genuine pelagic fishery. Because the beach seine method - which calls for the concentration of fish with light in deeper waters, the drifting of the concentrated shoal to the shore where they are captured with a seine net - is highly destructive to the young of many littoral fish species, its progressive substitution with true open water fishing methods is desirable. The biology of this fish is unknown but there are indications that a considerable stock may await exploitation. Engraulicypris may well be accompanied by a newly discovered Haplochromis complex of zooplankton and phytoplankton species which migrate to the surface at night and may be either exploited conjointly with Engraulicypris or separately with appropriate pelagic fishing gear. The nature of the pelagic community in the lake is in need of investigation, not only to determine its magnitude, but to define specific interactions such as those between the Haplochromis flock and Engraulicypris. Here competition may occur for the common food supply (zooplankton) or certain Haplochromis may prey upon Engraulicypris.
14. In addition to these major fisheries, a number of minor fisheries exist with local importance such as the former gillnet fishery for Mormyrus off Dagusi Island or the possible trawl fishery for Synodontis. Of these the fishery for Lates is of particular importance in the Nyanza Gulf where very large mesh gillnets catch this species, as well as giant S. niloticus.
15. Certain general conclusions emerged from the discussions as to the role of the CIFA Sub-Committee for Lake Victoria. In view of the urgent need for further information on the biology and dynamics of the various stocks, a primary role of the Sub-Committee is to coordinate and stimulate research on the various stocks of the lake (see also paragraphs 40, 42 and 43). The Sub-Committee should equally promote reliable standardized catch statistics on a lake-wide basis (see also paragraph 33). It is suggested that a possible mechanism for those activities is cooperative research programmes between the various national institutions having research capacity.
16. Lake Victoria fishery is the domain of the traditional and mainly artisanal fisherman. According to the existing reports over 54 100 of them (25 000 in Kenya, 21 000 in Tanzania and 8 100 in Uganda) are actively fishing this lake and make the fish the chief source of living using, respectively, 4 000, 4 400 and 2 700 boats, most of them traditional or improved traditional types.
17. Only a small part of the traditional craft are suitable for supporting an offshore fishery for Haplochromis and Engraulicypris. Hence, the traditional fishery exert considerable pressure on the inshore stocks. The underexploited stocks of the two above species represent, therefore, the only known reserves for the development and expansion of the traditional fishery.
18. Technologically and socially the traditional fishery is a multiform industry, exhibiting some internal conflict concerned with price sharing between fishermen and middlemen, competition on resources between the various sectors employing different fishing methods, stock destructive practices of some commercial operators, hired crews and fishermen/owners, etc.
19. Various aspects of the traditional fishery could be improved through appropriate development measures. These are, e.g., the quality of fish, the fish distributive and marketing system and the infrastructure involved, fishing craft and methods, fishermen's organizations and credit schemes, and more.
20. The traditional fishery represents a major source of employment and, in particular, with the increasing demand for Haplochromis and Engraulicypris, also a major source of inexpensive protein-rich food to the population of the region.
21. The Lake Victoria fisheries represent a very dynamic and ever-changing fishery ecosystem which does not necessarily recognize the national boundaries. Fish find their marketing routes from one national area where they are caught to another one where they are sold because of higher demand and/or better price. Fishing gear not available in one country may be obtained in the other. Some inshore fishermen still migrate in the traditional manner, following the concentration of fish.
22. In the attempt at supplying its national demand for fish meal and at the same time at developing the Haplochromis resource, Tanzania has launched a new fishery aimed at its industrial use. Other countries have not yet launched any industrial fishery and have the option of developing instead a Haplochromis fishery based on an upgraded traditional fishery. Also the Tanzania policy, while operating and developing the fish meal industry, does not rule out the access of the artisanal fishery to the offshore resources.
23. The Sub-Committee felt that any state-initiated identification and introduction of new or improved technology and any financial and institutional support for this purpose will be a function of the respective government's policy and socio-economic and political priorities. In specific terms, this involves a decision as to which sector of the economy is being assigned with the task of the development of the not yet fully exploited resources, the existing traditional fishery, national or parastatal enterprises, private companies, etc.
24. Such policy decision would have to take into consideration the possible social displacements or benefits and the new conflicts which may occur with the new developments. For this purpose it is important to have adequate and well analysed background information on the human facet of the Lake Victoria fisheries.
25. While the option of industrial-type of fishery calls for relatively larger trawling craft and rather high capital investment, that of traditional fishery would involve identification and introduction of intermediate, appropriate technology technically and financially accessible to the existing fishermen. These may consist, e.g., of pair trawling, boat (Danish) seining, ring netting and others.
26. Under Item 4b of the agenda, the Secretariat presented Paper No. CIFA:DM/LV/81/5. Main Fisheries Development and Management Issues and Suggested Action.
27. It was pointed out that the moving force behind the establishment of the CIFA Sub-Committee for Lake Victoria was the urgent need to set up effective international machinery for the development and management of the fisheries of the lake. The Sub-Committee was therefore expected to discuss opportunities and constraints linked with the development of the fisheries of the lake, to clarify the objectives of the riparian countries and to identify common field of interest and regional collaboration.
28. The basic economic reasoning behind the exploitation of a renewable natural resources such as found in Lake Victoria was illustrated with examples of specific fisheries in the lake. When fishing intensity for a specific species is low there is a large economic return for the fishing effort made. As the intensity of fishing increases (by increasing the number of fishermen or by fisheries further from the coast or with finer mesh) the returns from each extra fishing effort becomes less, i.e., the law of diminishing returns mainly to lakes and Barbus. When the total fishing effort expanded is equal to total costs of fishing we find the break-even point. Any increase in fishing effort past that point is first uneconomic, i.e., the costs will be greater than the benefits and will lead on the long term to the collapse of that particular fishery. In Lake Victoria this is what happened to the Labeo fishery in the northern part of the lake and to the Tilapia fisheries in some areas. A graphic presentation of this simple concept will show that the break-even point is far to the right of the maximum economic yield point (which is reached in the first stage of a fishery) or the maximum sustainable yield point where the catch is the greatest in quantity and/or value.
29. The maximum economic yield where excess value over costs is the greatest is, theoretically at least, the ideal fishing level because at that point overfishing is avoided and returns to capital and labour invested are the greatest. In subsistence fisheries the fishing effort is usually located much closer to the point of maximum sustainable yield (if not past that point) thus allowing for a greater number of fishermen to participate in the fishery.
30. It was explained that there were various ways open to the governing authority for controlling the exploitation of the lake. The catch could be restricted by regulation to a fixed tonnage for a given period. The maintenance of optimum level of exploitation could also be based on a licencing system, i.e., the limitation of the number of boats, gear, time of fishing, etc. Another system to control optimum fishing efforts for any given species is the allocation of the fishing right to a specific group of people with the proviso that, under the guidance of the controlling authority, they ensure that the resource is exploited at its optimum level thus providing a continued level of income to the group. In such a case, perhaps better suited to the conditions prevailing on Lake Victoria, the fishermen themselves may allocate the resource among themselves, control competition in regulating entry, limit total and individual fishing effort and arrive at a more rational, biological and economic exploitation of the stocks. This system requires villages level action and participation by fisheries operators themselves in the elaboration of management measures and their enforcement. Public information programmes to convince the fishermen of the need to manage the resource would be required and would need to be supported by effective training programmes aimed at educating them. This last method of controlling fishing effort is less costly as regulation of the fishing effort comes from within the interested groups.
31. The Sub-Committee recognized the fact that the maintenance and enhancement of the fishery resources of Lake Victoria made it imperative that the lake be treated as an ecological unit. Action taken by one country can easily have repercussions into another. For this reason, regional collaboration is not only desirable, but essential. Examples of such collaboration could be the study of the distribution of fish stocks, traditional fish catching techniques, fishery efforts and migrations throughout the lake and the joint analysis of the information generated. This would contribute to the common understanding of changing situations and make it possible to avoid overlapping research activities.
32. It was agreed that data developed and published by the riparian countries should not only be comparable but also available to all the countries concerned. Similarly, early resumption of an effective regional scientific and technical publication and of information and publication exchange system was recognized as a pressing regional priority. The Sub-Committee more specifically identified the following fields of regional cooperation:
(i) Standardization of fishery statistics
33. The Sub-Committee recognized the fact that substantial progress had been made under the Lake Victoria Fisheries Commission in the standardization of statistics compilation and reporting. In fact, some standard statistical form was in use throughout the region. The coordination of statistics collecting stopped with the collapse of the East African Community. The participants at the Sub-Committee session felt that without meaningful, comparable fishery statistics all efforts to improve fishery management were futile. It was therefore resolved to adopt a double course of action. On the one hand, FAO was requested to provide assistance to study existing statistical systems in the three countries with a view to harmonize them. On the other hand, the riparian states recommended the establishment of a Working Party on fishery statistics which would bring together, under the auspices of the CIFA Sub-Committee for Lake Victoria, on a regular basis the statisticians of the three countries. The terms of reference of the Working Party could be defined in detail at the First Session of the Working Party.
(ii) Harmonization of fishery legislation and regulations
34. The need to control the fisheries in order to attain the national development objectives set by each country exploiting Lake Victoria make it imperative that fishery legislation and regulations of the three countries be coordinated. The Sub-Committee recommended that a course of action similar to that suggested in the case of fishery statistics be followed. FAO was requested to provide assistance in the form of consultants or otherwise, to review existing fishery legislation and regulations and make suggestions for their harmonization. Furthermore, the countries agreed that regular discussions should be organized between themselves to discuss the problems connected with the implementation of fishery regulations and the need to keep up to date on the development in each country in this field.
35. It was felt that fishermen communities and groups should be mobilized to ensure their understanding, involvement and participation in the management of the fisheries. To achieve this the fishermen needed to be educated through participation in seminars, workshops or otherwise to better understand the reasons behind the fishery regulations.
36. It was felt that the grouping of the fishermen in small groups, such as cooperatives or fishermen's unions as is the practice in some countries would facilitate their education and motivate their involvement.
37. Basic studies were necessary however on the countries' experience in the regulation of their fisheries, such as the limitation of fishing efforts and access to the fishery, the registration of fishing gear and boats and on the options available to the governments to manage efficiently the resources. Socio-economic studies of the fishermen, the various fisheries, the pricing and marketing systems were also encouraged.
38. The participants felt that research should also be coordinated between the countries in order to provide the authorization in the three countries with scientifically backed guidelines for the protection, management and development of the resources.
(iii) Development of the Haplochromis fishery
39. In the early seventies the standing crop of Haplochromis was established at 600 000 t by the FAO/UNDP Lake Victoria Fisheries Research Project. Further research on the stocks appear to indicate that Haplochromis is less mobile than originally thought. In Kenya the Haplochromis fishery which represented the most important part of the total national catch has in very recent years almost completely disappeared. In Tanzania an industrial fishery for Haplochromis has been developed to provide raw material for a fish meal plant. Also it was brought to the attention of the participants that Haplochromis was being accepted by the consumer to an increasing degree.
40. In view of the above developments, the Sub-Committee felt that it was becoming urgent that another stock assessment survey be undertaken to verify the extent of the stocks and their resistance to exploitation and to provide the basis for further development plans based on that species complex. The countries were urged to associate any development of industrial fisheries, for fish meal production, for example, with adequate programmes for the evaluation and monitoring of the effects of the fishery on the fish stocks.
In the meantime, however, the countries would benefit in identifying ways and means of developing the artisanal Haplochromis fishery by improving fishing technologies, developing Haplochromis products and marketing.
41. The countries were urged to watch closely Tanzania's experience with an industrial Haplochromis fishery. Present animal feed requirements of Tanzania have been estimated at 147 000 t of which Tanzania fisheries (marine and inland) provide about 15 000 t of fish meal.
(iv) Development of the pelagic fisheries
42. The sharp increase in the catches of Engraulicypris in recent years gives added importance to pelagic fisheries of Lake Victoria. It brings out the necessity to assess the stocks available and to investigate the development of pelagic fisheries. The exchange of information between the countries which are exploiting pelagic stocks was felt to be important in view of the fact that different fishing techniques are being used to catch pelagic fish.
(v) Rehabilitation of the anadromous fisheries
43. In Lake Victoria some fish species have either disappeared or are on the verge of disappearing because of fishing malpractices. This is particularly true of anadromous fisheries which are easily vulnerable to uncontrolled fishing. The rehabilitation of the fisheries that have disappeared and the enhancement of other pelagic fisheries may be possible through the production of fry through fish culture.
44. Extensive fish culture such as impoundments or pen culture in Lake Victoria has also been mentioned and countries showed interest in such systems to sustain production of high valued species.
(vi) Promotion of regional research
45. The urgent need for research on most stocks of fish within the lake was noted and emphasized in paragraph 15 and the Sub-Committee had a leading role in the promotion and coordination of regional research. Of the various fisheries defined in Table 1, only the Tilapia and the anadromous species have been studied to any degree hence there is a general lack of information to guide decision making in all sectors.
46. Not withstanding the general lack of information, two sectors in particular present themselves as priority areas for immediate study because of their potential magnitude and future investment potential over the lake. These are: (i) the Haplochromis stocks at present being investigated by the Netherlands-financed Haplochromis Ecology Survey Team in Mwanza. Here an expansion of the biological work is needed to define the various Haplochromis complexes and perhaps it is more urgent to further evaluate the benthic stocks and the changes that have occurred in areas subject to exploitation; and, (ii) the Engraulicypris (Rastrineobola) and pelagic Haplochromis stocks which represent a new potential fishery and which remain almost completely unknown. An investigation both in biology and magnitude is required.
(vii) Role of the CIFA Sub-Committee for Lake Victoria
47. Member countries reaffirmed the role of their respective Department of Fisheries as being the designated authority fully responsible for regulatory, enforcement and management of their fisheries in their national waters. The role of the Sub-Committee was that of an advisory body to the member governments and the regional mechanism to promote regional collaboration.
48. The Sub-Committee recognized that fisheries collaboration in East Africa is one of the oldest on the continent. As early as 1928, it was recommended that a unified lake-wide authority for regulation and for the collection of fisheries statistics be established. In fact, in 1933 a uniform mesh size limit was agreed upon. With the establishment of the East African Freshwater Fisheries Research Organization (EAFFRO) in 1947, this collaboration solidified and thereafter intensified.
49. With the collapse of the East African Community in 1977, this important regional coordinating mechanism disappeared. The riparian countries felt, however, that there was an absolute need to collaborate in the development and management of the fisheries of Lake Victoria and for this reason the CIFA Sub-Committee for Lake Victoria was established in December 1980 in Blantyre, at the Fourth Session of the FAO Committee for Inland Fisheries of Africa (CIFA).
50. The Sub-Committee agreed that to be effective its work had to be backed up by a locally-based 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. This core, for a start, could be composed of an internationally funded programme director, a locally funded fisheries management coordinator, some associate experts and consultants.
51. As a first step the Sub-Committee aimed at consolidating the Secretariat of the Sub-Committee and locating it in the region. As a second step, the Sub-Committee hoped to develop a long-term regional fishery development project with a strong research component to be financed by bilateral or multilateral donor agencies interested in the region.
52. To achieve this second objective the Sub-Committee resolved strongly to recommended to the countries to ask FAO, to provide under TCP arrangements the manpower necessary to prepare a long-term regional fishery development and research project for Lake Victoria. A working group made up of a representative of each country was appointed by the Sub-Committee to draft a proposal to be submitted to the Director-General of FAO by the individual countries.
53. To attain its first objective, i.e., the consolidation of its activities with the help of a technical support unit, the Sub-Committee urged FAO under its regular programme to make available as a temporary measure sufficient consultants' funds to initiate priority work in fishery legislation and fishery statistics and fisheries technology. In the meantime, efforts would be made by FAO to identify a donor to finance the technical support unit or core programme required to coordinate efficiently fishery development activities in the region.
54. The Sub-Committee further recognized the importance of making an appraisal of the current status of fisheries in each country. In this connexion the assistance of FAO was requested.
55. The UNDP Representative said that his organization would be pleased to consider any project proposed from the Sub-Committee. He confirmed that UNDP's 1982–86 Regional and Country Programmes were currently being finalized. It was hoped that the Sub-Committee would at some stage be in a position to implement whatever institutional arrangements it deemed appropriate and to approach donors with its specific proposal. At present there appeared to be three project proposals.
The Regional Inland Fisheries Programme for Africa prepared by FAO for CIFA, but which was not according to FAO, on UNDP's top priority list for the 1982–86 programme cycle.
The proposed Programme for the Development and Management of the Lake Victoria fisheries (US$ 564 590) which FAO prepared for the Sub-Committee's consideration.
The proposed Phase II of the Lake Victoria Regional Fisheries Research Project (about US$ 4 million) which was being considered by the three governments.
56. He stressed the need for the core of any future programme, whether it was the current Sub-Committee, technical working group or a secretariat, to be fully supported by the participating countries in fulfilling their national responsibilities and providing counterpart contribution. He noted that arrangements should be made to provide the Sub-Committee with consultants in legislation and statistics as requested by country representatives during the session.
57. The representative of EEC explained that the reason for EEC's participation in the Sub-Committee meeting stemmed from the important Uganda fisheries development programme foreseen for financing by the European Development Fund (EDF) during Lomé II.
58. This programme would have regional implications with the joint three-country monitoring of fish stocks being an essential requirement to development of the Uganda offshore fishing industry.
From there it was a short step to direct EEC involvement on a regional basis taking into account the shortage of animal protein, the general underdevelopment in the lake basin and the imperative need to generate food and income from the lake's resources.
59. With further considerations being the protection of its own proposed investment in Uganda, as well as current international and bilateral funding elsewhere on the lake perimeter, the EEC would, in principle, give favourable consideration to the financing of one or more genuine regional projects under Lomé II. The objectives of these projects would be to help achieve primarily food and income from the lake's resources with additionally helping the practical cooperation between the three countries and laying a basis for a rational exploitation of the lake's resources.
60. He explained that project proposals should have the approval of two or more ACP states in order to qualify for the regional EDF funding and should, in preference, be presented through a regional body such as the present Sub-Committee which was assuming the role of the defunct Lake Victoria Fisheries Commission. The existence of such a body having the authority of the three governments would greatly assist the identification, preparation, presentation and implementation of EDF regional projects.
61. As regards project types, the representative from EEC said that practical projects aiding development at grass-root level were preferred for EDF funding, although projects with a practical research aspect could not be ruled out. Projects such as the setting up of a management team for the development and management of the lake fisheries were best left to FAO, bearing in mind its long-term involvement with CIFA and the high cost of experts funded through EDF.
62. The observer from the Netherlands drew the attention of the Sub-Committee on the work of the Haplochromis Ecology Survey Team (HEST) located at the Freshwater Fisheries Research Centre at Nyegezi (Tanzania). This research work is supported by the Netherlands Foundation for the Advancement of Tropical Research (WOTRO).
63. The meeting expressed great appreciation of the research work done by the HEST group which is additional to the development programme funded by the Government of the Netherlands in Tanzania. The Sub-Committee endorsed the continuation and enlargement of the scope of this research project which in view of the great interest of the member countries in the commercial exploitation of Haplochromis, is of immediate practical value to all countries of this basin.
64. No other matters of business were brought up at the meeting.
65. The Sub-Committee received with appreciation the offer by the Kenya Delegation to host the next session of the Sub-Committee.
The date and place to be finally determined by the Director-General of FAO in consultation with the host country.
66. The Sub-Committee recommended that the election of the office bearers should be deferred until the beginning of the next session. It was felt that such a move would give the current office bearers a better opportunity of guiding the inter-sessional activities of the Sub-Committee.
67. This report was adopted on 14 October 1981.
