20 FISHERMEN NABBED

ABOUT 20 fishermen in Monze have been arrested for illegal fishing as the annual three-month fish ban is still in force, Monze District Fisheries and Livestock Coordinator Tabitha Shamaila said yesterday.

Ms Shamaila also said 222 kg of fish had been confiscated in the district during the ongoing 2018/ 2019 annual fish ban.

She said in an interview in Monze that six fisherman had been convicted, while 11 were appearing before court, in a crackdown on illegal fishing in the district.

Ms Shamaila added that about 105 kg of dry fish and about 117kg of fresh fish had been confiscated in the exercise. ‘’Yes I can confirm that as a district, we are carrying out an extensive exercise targeting all the fishing camps in the district to ensure that the fish ban is observed throughout the district. So far we have arrested 21 fishermen and confiscated about 222 kgs of fish,’’ Ms Shamaila said.

She said, however, that her department was facing a number of challenges in achieving its objectives especially due to limited number of vehicles and boats to use.

She urged traditional leaders in the fishing villages to play a key role in curbing the vice, by ensuring that fishing villages were evacuated during the annual fish ban.

Zambia’s annual fish ban, which lasts for 3 months, starts on the 1st of December and ends on the 28th of February to allow replenishment of fish stocks.