Fishermen in a boat in Lake Victoria. |
Agricultural
effluent and untreated wastewater being discharged into Lake Victoria
are major contributors to the destruction of its fragile ecosystem.
Left unchecked, these discharges could lead to the lake's death, scientists have warned.
According to Dr
Ronald Semyalo, a hydrobiologist, blooming of algae on the surface
caused by pollution with fertiliser and agricultural wastes is a major
cause of the reduction of oxygen available for fish and other aquatic
life forms in the lake.
"The growth of algae has caused a reduction in the population of fish and signals the slow death of the lake," he said.
Dr Semyalo said the
lake was in danger of dying due to leakage of fertiliser, pesticides
and industrial waste into its waters, adding that more needs to be done
to ensure the lake survives for future generations.
In a study on the
quality of water in and around Lake Victoria, Prof Charles Willem, Dr
Charles Niwagaba and Mary Aukurut found that the water quality in the
Inner Murchison Bay on the northern shores of Lake Victoria in Uganda
has deteriorated over time due to pollution.
The report also showed that commercial and industrial establishments had the highest pollutant concentrations.
Illegal fishing
This has not spared
fishing. According to President Yoweri Museveni, illegal fishing had
weakened havoc in the country's fish processing industry, noting that
out of the 21 fish factories that were operational 10 years ago, only
eight are operating today.
"The factories were
annually processing a total of 36,614 tonnes of fish worth $144 million
in 2007. Today, the surviving factories earn only $123.1 million," he
said on August 26.
Fish catchers,
processors, traders and government officials involved in Uganda's
fishing sector have recently been saying that fish stocks in Lake
Victoria are declining.
An October report
by the Lake Victoria Fisheries Organisation, a Jinja-based research
body, says that the Nile Perch population has dropped by up to a quarter
while that of omena has almost halved (49 per cent).
Research
established that the Tanzanian portion of the lake, which is the largest
of the three nations, registered the sharpest drop, with fish stocks
declining by 33 per cent, followed by Kenya at 31 per cent and Uganda at
13 per cent.
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